Simply coating a sheet of paper with ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires makes a highly conductive storage device. These nanomaterials are special. They’re a one-dimensional structure with very small diameters. The small diameter helps the nanomaterial ink stick strongly to the fibrous paper, making the battery and supercapacitor very durable. The paper supercapacitor may last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles – at least an order of magnitude more than lithium batteries. The nanomaterials also make ideal conductors because they move electricity along much more efficiently than ordinary conductors. Read the rest of this entry »