Graphene-based battery devices generate their own power

A growth in wearable devices is expected with the development of transparent batteries that can both generate and store power. Now, researchers from Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST) have announced their own film type, graphene-based multifunctional transparent energy devices, described in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Senior Researcher Changsoon Choi’s team in the Smart Textile Research Group actively used single-layer graphene film as an electrode in order to develop transparent devices. Due to its excellent electrical conductivity and light and thin characteristics, single-layer graphene film is ideal for electronics that require batteries. By using a high-molecule nanomaterial that contains semisolid electrolyte, the research team succeeded in increasing transparency (maximum of 77.4%) to see landscape and letters clearly.

Furthermore, the research team designed their electronic devices to be self charging by inserting an energy storage panel inside the upper layer of the devices and an energy conversion panel inside the lower panel. They even succeeded in manufacturing electronics with touch-sensing systems by adding a touch sensor below the energy storage panel of the upper layer.

“We decided to start this research because we were amazed by transparent smartphones appearing in movies,” said Choi. “While there are still long ways to go for commercialisation due to high production costs, we will do our best to advance this technology further as we made this success in the transparent energy storage field that has not had any visible research performances.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Oleksiy Mark

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