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Researchers at a Texas university have invented a technique to spray-paint super-thin batteries onto any surface.
Made up of five separate layers of paint, the finished battery measures at just 0.5mm thick.
“The traditional packaging for batteries has given way to a much more flexible approach that allows all kinds of new design and integration possibilities for storage devices,” said Professor Pulickel Ajayan. “There has been lot of interest in recent times in creating power sources with an improved form factor, and this is a big step forward in that direction.”
A typical battery is made up of layers rolled up into a cylindrical or round-edged rectangular shape. Scientists at Rice University, Texas, separated the five layers and recreating them, each with their own recipe, ready for being blasted out of a normal spray gun.
The research team airbrushed materials onto ceramic bathroom tiles, flexible polymers, glass, stainless steel and even a beer stein to see how well they would bond with each substrate.
In a video, the team demonstrated how the batteries could be spray painted onto tiles connected up to solar panels, meaning a whole house could store up solar energy to use throughout the home.
Spray paint batteries could give technology manufacturers endless possibilities when creating the next generation of super sleek PCs, tablets and gadgets. I for one cannot wait to see what will happen!
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