Since the accidental discovery of metal-like doped polyacetylene in the 1970s, polymer battery research has been driven by the potential of low-cost and environmentally friendly power alternatives to lead-acid batteries. More recent discoveries of new conductive organic materials with higher power densities have also accelerated the the development of flexible "plastic" batteries.
When it comes to batteries of the future, Professor Yi Cui of Stanford University may soon have us asking, "Paper or Plastic?"
Cui’s research group has recently demonstrated a highly conductive storage device formed by coating a sheet of commercially available paper with ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires. Like ink absorbs into paper, the nanotube ink is similarly absorbed due to the small diameters of the solution processible nanomaterials.
With the potential of lasting through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles, these paper batteries may also offer a much longer lifetime than lithium batteries.