BATTERY POWER:RESEARCHERS at Stanford University have developed a way of turning a sheet of paper into an ultra lightweight and flexible battery by dipping it into an ink made with carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires.

The small diameter helps the nanomaterial ink stick strongly to the fibrous paper, making the battery and supercapacitor very durable. The paper supercapacitor could last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles, which means it is more durable than most lithium batteries.

The nanomaterials also make ideal conductors, explained Yi Cui, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering. “Society really needs a low-cost, high-performance energy storage device, such as batteries and simple supercapacitors. These nanomaterials are special,” he said.

Paper batteries can be crumpled or folded, even soaked in basic liquid solutions without degrading their performance, the researchers discovered.