Researchers Spray-Paint Batteries Onto Almost Any Surface

Warmlight writes "Rice University researchers have created a type of lithium-ion battery that can be spray-painted onto most surfaces. 'Their batteries, outlined in Scientific Reports (abstract), are made up of five separate layers, each with its own recipe — together measuring just 0.5mm thick. To demonstrate the technique, the team painted batteries onto steel, glass, ceramic tile and even a beer stein.' What do you think this will do for future form-factors? Maybe a form-fitting PipBoy-style device that doesn't weigh 30lbs?"

Comments

Hasn't this been done before?

[regular_guy]

I'm actually surprised to see this coming out from Rice, wasn't this stuff being done 20 years ago by another Rice group? Maybe additional substrates this time? Looks like a review of their references may be necessary.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[SuperKendall]

The team at Rice just finally came out of the room after twenty years to break for lunch outside, and casually mentioned it to a passerby before they went back in.

In another twenty years expect batteries formed from pure thought.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[fluffythedestroyer]

It tells it on their link here in the article. I'm pretty amazed by this...seems like a very good thing.

In the first experiment, nine bathroom tile-based batteries were connected in parallel. One was topped with a solar cell that converted power from a white laboratory light. When fully charged by both the solar panel and house current, the batteries alone powered a set of light-emitting diodes that spelled out “RICE” for six hours; the batteries provided a steady 2.4 volts.

The researchers reported that the hand-painted batteries were remarkably consistent in their capacities, within plus or minus 10 percent of the target. They were also put through 60 charge-discharge cycles with only a very small drop in capacity, Singh said.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[Farmer Tim]

In another twenty years expect batteries formed from pure thought.

Least reliable power source ever.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[mlts]

I'd just be happy with a battery that 1/2 to 1/10 of the energy volume density of gasoline, and can be scaled up.

That way, the Otto cycle engines can be chucked for electric motors which don't have energy loss due to exhaust or needless heat.

For RVs, it would allow for the rig to be completely electric. No loud generators, just use a high capacity inverter that can handle the 60 or so locked rotor amps from an A/C, and that is that. Then when you get to home or storage, plug the RV into shore power to trickle charge.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[Farmer Tim]

I'd just be happy with a battery that 1/2 to 1/10 of the energy volume density of gasoline

Ever raise kids?

No...how do they compare to gasoline for energy density?

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can graph it, but it looks kind of weird. At newborn stage, the amount of internal energy is somewhat low - not for lack of capacity, just not much charge yet. They charge up in a couple of months though, and AMOUNT of energy remains constant from that point forward. What changes is the form factor.

When the form is small, the energy density is surprisingly high - easily a match for gasoline. (And sometimes might want to take a match to gasoline, but that's a different issue.) Difficult to harness this capacity though. As the form grows larger though, the density drops until it seems there's barely enough to power the form off the bed in the morning.

So... across the lifetime of the container, there's a sharp spike in density early, then relatively smooth (but noticeable) decline until it's no longer useful in powering even a small lawn mower or vacuum cleaner.

Re:Hasn't this been done before?

[furbearntrout]

In another twenty years expect batteries formed from impure thought.

Most reliable power source ever.

FTFY

Okay but...

[Chas]

That's great and everything. But what kind of capacitance can they get out of these? And do we have any idea about the lifespan and durability of this process?

It'd be great to get away from huge battery columns or battery blocks in the trunk/engine area, or staying with them and using this to augment them and raise the top range of the vehicles.

But until there's more specific information, this is "interesting" but not very helpful.

Re:Okay but...

[KhabaLox]

But until there's more specific information, this is "interesting" but not very helpful.

http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/120628/srep00481/full/srep00481.html

There's a direct link to the more specific information linked to in TFA. There's even 7 graphs showing .... something I don't understand.

Also, you understand there is always a gap between laboratory research and industrial application, right? When Smalley and Koto synthesized buckminsterfullerene the practical applications weren't immediately realized, but now we have nanotubes used in microscopes, molecular filters and semi-conductors.

Re:Okay but...

[DrVomact]

That's great and everything. But what kind of capacitance can they get out of these?

As little as possible, one hopes, though I've never heard of parasitic capacitance as a major consideration in battery design. But when they get down to spray painting them on surfaces, who knows? Certainly the designers of any non-trivial circuit that is sprayed onto a surface will have to deal with this phenomenon.

Oh, cmoe one

[geekoid]

There are two very important questions that should have been answered:

1) How much power are the getting from the Beer Stein in the picture.

2) What beer is in the stein.

Re:Oh, cmoe one

[IdolizingStewie]

Mostly St. Arnold's these days. The price has gone up though. $1 now. I think you can still get shitty beer for 75c though.

Surprising amount of power

[Grayhand]

I was expecting a few minutes at best so storing enough to run LED lights for 6 hours was impressive. The number of charge discharge cycles is a major question. What intrigues me is pairing this with spray on solar cells so you end up with a coating that collects and stores power. Imagine light poles that collect and store power then discharge it at night with no visible wires or solar cells. Also roofing tiles that collect and store energy. The real trick would be getting the life cycle to match solar cells which is actually quite long. Traditional cells wouldn't come close but pairing this with nano technology might make the cells more durable. Either way it's interesting technology. Ultimately though what it's likely to do is create devices that are completely disposable since the batteries are fully intergrated.

Re:taggers

[wierd_w]

Now imagine 2 more techs, and tagging will be a sight indeed!

Just need spraypaint photocells, and spraypaint Oleds.

Booyah. Neon tagging.

Re:Oh, come on [spelling fixed to presumed intent]

[DrVomact]

There are two very important questions that should have been answered:

1) How much power are the getting from the Beer Stein in the picture.

2) What beer is in the stein.

3) Are they also working on a spray-paintable Peltier cooler so that we can keep our beer cold and our hands warm at the same time?

Re:Clever

[Iskender]

Why is India in such a bad state when there are so many smart Indians?

High difficulty level. I live in Finland which has been called "the least failed state in the world". This is nice and all but anyone trying to improve India is dealing with something like 250 times the population, a thousand languages and cultures (probably an understatement) and a warm climate which will give you a great variety of diseases whenever it feels like it. There's also the whole mutual hate thing with Pakistan.

Given the circumstances India seems like a surprising success to me. I hope they can keep it up.

I see a few problems with this

[__aaqvdr516]

1. It removes the ability to have a drop in spare (i.e. is not user replaceable.)

2. The "packaging" they refer to is also a vital part of the mechanical integrity of a battery. Mechanical integrity is kind of important.

3. Spraying a battery directly to the case of a device ensures that the full force of any mechanical shock is applied to the battery as well.

All of this together makes me believe that the only use this could have is for relatively small items that you do not intend to move around.

Re:I see a few problems with this

[Anne Thwacks]

If it is sprayed on to plastic or cardboard, then I dont think the packaging is a problem. Just think, your cornflake packet can power LEDs that flash "Cornflakes" until you finish the packet! How socially useful is that!

(Just posting this to disclose it publicly, and ensure no one can patent the idea)

Re:Bad idea

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

Name 5 things that you can buy today that can remain in use for 20 years through repairs. Even if you can, any of those 5 thing you actually want after 20 years?

Yeah, I agree, being able to maintain and repair something should be better valued then disposable products but that is not the reality we live in. Even cars have a shelf life these days, whether through component failure or a failure to remain in style.

Instead there are many, many, many opportunities for companies to recycle and recover components and materials.

And ultimately, what is wrong with waste?

Seriously, waste disposable is simply a social issue. Nobody likes waste. They don't want a landfills in their backyards. Municipalities do not want to invest money to build more or maintain existing landfills. They don't want the headache of trying to find more land for a dump. Its probably one of the stupidest social issues in existence because we all generate waste, even the best of us, yet nobody wants to deal with it. So thus we assume waste is bad.

But I think that in the very near future people are going to look at waste like its a gold mine. Think of all the hydro-carbons locked in a landfill. Think of all the metal and aggregate materials that are locked away in a landfill. It may not be economically viable to "mine" a landfill currently as there are cheaper and easier ways to extract the raw materials we need for our everyday consumption, but one day it will become profitable to delve back into landfills to sort and extract its valuables.

So municipalities should invest heavily in recycling, recovery, and YES, even landfills regardless of the headaches because there is a huge potential for many cities to be sitting on a goldmine's worth of recoverable materials in the very near future. There are companies already out there that can turn garbage into energy and reclaim metals and aggregate materials using plasmification, and they produce emissions 10 times better then even strict California laws would allow. But the moment a city wants to store a bit of garbage somewhere it becomes this big social headache because of all the greenies thinking the world is going to end when another dump is created.

So whatever, spray my batteries directly on the device and when I am done, if nobody wants to buy it used, if there are no electronic recyclable programs to take it back, then dump it, period. In all likelihood its going to be reclaimed eventually.

The era of grabbing a screwdriver to tinker with and fix a broken device is pretty much over with as we head toward more micronization of components and faster automated manufacturing processes. But I don't think we have to worry about more disposable items as I don't believe this is anything more then a social issue arising from unwarranted green guilt because economically and even environmentally its going to be very attractive to recover materials from landfills rather then hunting around the planet looking for scarce raw materials.

Re:Clever

[Shadow of Eternity]

The problem is that the citizenry suffers from widespread crushing poverty and lack of basic necessary services to maintain a developed society because of an incredibly unbalanced distribution of wealth, constant abuse by megacorporations who take advantage of vast swaths of land, resources, and the workforce without any interference and in some cases active assistance from an incredibly corrupt government that has practically institutionalized bribery, grift, and nepotism all of which is constantly being besieged on all sides by a backwards ignorance-worshipping violent religious group that wants to drag the country back to the stone age.

Meanwhile in India they've got many of the same problems...

Re:Bad idea

[pointyhat]

Well it's only June. I don't buy that much, but when I do I make sure I don't buy a hunk of shit that needs replacing every 5 minutes, so 5 things I've bought new in the last 10 years which will still be going in 20 years FROM NOW through repair and replacement:

1. Land Rover Defender TD5. Definitely want this after 20 years. This replaced my 30 year old one. Repairable.

2. Maglite LED torch. Definitely want this after 20 years. Repairable.

3. Aga cooker. Definitely want this after 20 years. Repairable.

4. Singer 4423 sewing machine. Definitely want this after 20 years. Repairable.

5. OPL frame dryer. Definitely want this after 20 years. Repairable

There's not excuse to buy disposable shit.

Re:Bad idea

[knarf]

Name 5 things that you can buy today that can remain in use for 20 years through repairs.

Cars, bicycles, kitchen appliances, HVAC equipment, anything made of cast iron (which includes all my cookery stuff), need I go on?

The era of grabbing a screwdriver to tinker with and fix a broken device is pretty much over with as we head toward more micronization of components and faster automated manufacturing processes.

Not true, it just means you'll be repairing stuff by replacing functional units (''the power supply module') instead of components ('that broken FET in the power supply'). I do this regularly to great effect.

Of course there are things which just can not be repaired by the average hacker - hard drive head assemblies come to mind. The big 'but' here is that once it gets common enough for repairs to need dust-free environments, a dust-free enclosure will become standard hacker equipment. It is not like building one of these is that much effort, I just have not felt the need yet.

In short, as long as stuff can be broken into individual functional units it can be repaired. It might be that the amount of function contained in one unit increases (discrete components -> 74XX TTL/40XX CMOS - > LSI/VLSI -> SoC -> ?) but even in the latter case it is possible - and sometimes worthwhile - to replace broken components.