Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

The development of graphene-based flexible textile supercapacitor using a simple and scalable printing technique is a significant step towards realising multifunctional next generation wearable e-textiles Credit: University of Manchester

New research from Manchester University has demonstrated flexible graphene oxide battery-like devices printed directly on to textiles using a simple screen-printing technique. The current hurdle with wearable technology is how to power devices without the need for cumbersome battery packs. Devices known as supercapacitors are one way to achieve this. A supercapacitor acts similarly to a battery but allows for rapid charging which can fully charge devices in seconds.

The new solid-state flexible supercapacitor device has been demonstrated by using conductiv...

1. This is an artistic rendering of fiber-shaped implantable batteries using biocompatible electrolytes.
Credit: Guo et al.
2. Guo et al. Multi-functional Flexible Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries with High Safety. Chem, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.05.004

Researchers in China have engineered bendable batteries that can run on body-inspired liquids such as normal IV saline solution and cell-culture medium. In their work the authors designed alternatives to lithium-ion batteries by focusing on the mechanical-stress demands of wearable electronics such as smartwatches and the safety requirements of implantable electronics.

“Current batteries like the lithium-ion ones used in medical implants generally come in rigid shapes,” says Yonggang Wang, a chemistry professor at Fudan University and the C...

This is a flowchart of energy storage and carbon fixation using Li-CO2 technology. Credit: Qiao et al.

Scientists working toward the elusive lithium-air battery discovered an unexpected approach to capturing and storing CO2 away from the atmosphere. Using a design intended for a lithium-CO2 battery, researchers in Japan and China have developed a way to isolate solid carbon dust from CO2, with the potential to also separate out oxygen gas through the same method. Converting carbon dioxide emissions into other carbon-containing compounds is desirable due to CO2’s contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming...

The compact pilot plant used in the SOLETAIR project is designed for decentralized production, fits into a shipping container, and can be extended modularly. (Photo: VTT)

Pilot plant produces first synthetic fuel from solar power and the air’s carbon dioxide/KIT spin-off ineratec supplied key component. Production of liquid fuels from regenerative electric power is a major component of the energy turnaround. The first 200 l of synthetic fuel have now been produced from solar energy and the air’s carbon dioxide by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis under the SOLETAIR project. Here, INERATEC, a spinoff of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), cooperates with Finnish partners...