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A
Seminar Report
on
Paper battery

SUBMITTED TO- submitted by-

Dr. kalpana chauhan Aneeh Verma

Preface
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I have made this report file on the topic Paper Battery, I have tried my best to elucidate all
the relevant detail to the topic to be included in the report. While in the beginning I have
tried to give a general view about this topic.

My efforts and wholehearted co-corporation of each and everyone has ended on a successful
note. I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Kalpana Chauhan who assisting me throughout the
prepration of this topic. I thank her for providing me the reinforcement, confidence and most
importantly the track for the topic whenever I needed it.

Introduction
The continuously advancing technology of portable electronic devices requires more flexible
batteries to power them. Batteries power a wide range of electronic devices including
phones, laptop computers and medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators.
With the ever increasing demand for efficiency and design, there is a need for ultrathin, safe
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and flexible energy storage options. A paper battery is a flexible, ultra- thin energy storage
and production device formed by combining carbon nanotubes with a conventional sheet of
cellulose based paper. A paper battery acts as both a high energy battery and supercapacitor,
combining two components that are separate in traditional electronics.
This combination allows the battery to provide long term, steady power production and
bursts of energy. Through the use of super capacitors, batteries can be made that will deliver
renewable energy from bodily fluids such as blood or sweat. This technology can be greatly
utilized by medical devices. It combines two essential materials, cellulose and carbon
nanotubes (CNTs), that fit the characteristics of spacer and electrode and provide inherent
flexibility as well as porosity to the system. Cellulose, the main constituent of paper and an
inexpensive insulating separator structure with excellent biocompatibility, can be made with
adjustable porosity. CNTs, a structure with extreme flexibility, have already been widely
used as electrodes in electrochemical devices.
By proper integration the output power of paper batteries can be adapted to required level of
voltage–current. This cellulose based spacer is compatible with many possible electrolytes.
Researchers used ionic liquid, essentially a liquid salt, as the battery’s electrolyte, as well as
naturally occurring electrolytes such as human sweat, blood and urine.
Due to the flexible nature of the cellulose and nanotubes, this power source can be easily
modified or placed in the body or various medical devices. The need for surgery to replace
batteries on internal medical devices would be nonexistent. This is because super capacitor
does not show a loss in power dissipation over time like normal chemical batteries do.
Patients with implanted medical devices will also benefit from the flexibility because
previous devices may cause discomfort for person due to a larger solid power source.

As this technology is adapted it will prove to be extremely useful and could even save not
only cost but lives also.

What is Battery
Battery or voltaic cell is a combination of many electrochemical Galvanic cells of identical
type to store chemical energy and to deliver higher voltage or higher current than with single
cells.
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The battery cells create a voltage difference between the terminals of each cell and hence to
its combination in battery. When an external electrical circuit is connected to the battery,
then the battery drives electrons through the circuit and electrical work is done. Since the
invention of the first Voltaic pile in 1800 by Alessandro Volta, the battery has become a
common power source for many household and industrial applications, and is now a multi-
billion dollar industry.

Paper battery 
A paper battery is an electric battery engineered to use a spacer formed largely of cellulose (the
major constituent of paper). It incorporates [nanoscopic scale] structures to act as high surface-
area  electrodes to improve conductivity.

History

Timeline of Battery History

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 1748—Benjamin Franklin first coined the term "battery" to describe an array of

charged glass plates.
 1780 to 1786—Luigi Galvani demonstrated what we now understand to be the
electrical basis of nerve impulses and provided the cornerstone of research for later
inventors like Volta to create batteries.
 1800 Voltaic Pile—Alessandro Volta invented the Voltaic Pile and discovered the
first practical method of generating electricity. Constructed of alternating discs of zinc
and copper with pieces of cardboard soaked in brine between the metals, the Voltaic
Pile produced electrical current. The metallic conducting arc was used to carry the
electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro Volta's voltaic pile was the first "wet
cell battery" that produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.

 1836 Daniell Cell—The Voltaic Pile could not deliver an electrical current for a long
period of time. Englishman, John F. Daniell invented the Daniell Cell that used two
electrolytes: copper sulfate and zinc sulfate. The Daniel Cell lasted longer than the
Volta cell or pile. This battery, which produced about 1.1 volts, was used to power
objects such as telegraphs, telephones, and doorbells, remained popular in homes for
over 100 years.
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 1839 Fuel Cell—William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, which produced
electrical by combining hydrogen and oxygen.

 1839 to 1842—Inventors created improvements to batteries that used liquid electrodes

to produce electricity. Bunsen (1842) and Grove (1839) invented the most successful.
 1859 Rechargeable—French inventor, Gaston Plante developed the first practical
storage lead-acid battery that could be recharged (secondary battery). This type of
battery is primarily used in cars today.
 1866 Leclanche Carbon-Zinc Cell—French engineer, Georges Leclanche patented
the carbon-zinc wet cell battery called the Leclanche cell. According to The History of
Batteries: "George Leclanche's original cell was assembled in a porous pot. The
positive electrode consisted of crushed manganese dioxide with a little carbon mixed
in. The negative pole was a zinc rod. The cathode was packed into the pot, and a
carbon rod was inserted to act as a current collector. The anode or zinc rod and the pot
were then immersed in an ammonium chloride solution. The liquid acted as the
electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous cup and making contact with the
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cathode material. Georges Leclanche then further improved his design by substituting
the ammonium chloride paste for liquid electrolyte and invented a method of sealing
the battery, inventing the first dry cell, an improved design that was now transportable.

 1881—J.A. Thiebaut patented the first battery with both the negative electrode and
porous pot placed in a zinc cup.1881—Carl Gassner invented the first commercially
successful dry cell battery (zinc-carbon cell).
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 1899—Waldmar Jungner invented the first nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery.

 1901 Alkaline Storage—Thomas Alva Edison invented the alkaline storage battery.

Thomas Edison's alkaline cell had iron as the anode material (-) and nickelic oxide as
the cathode material (+).
 1949 Alkaline-Manganese Battery—Lew Urry developed the small alkaline battery
in 1949. The inventor was working for the Eveready Battery Co. at their research
laboratory in Parma, Ohio. Alkaline batteries last five to eight times as long as zinc-
carbon cells, their predecessors.
 1954 Solar Cells—Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapin invented the
first solar battery. A solar battery converts the sun's energy into electricity. In 1954,
Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller, and Daryl Chapin invented the first solar battery. The
inventors created an array of several strips of silicon (each about the size of a razor
blade), placed them in sunlight, captured the free electrons and turned them into
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electrical current. Bell Laboratories in New York announced the prototype

manufacture of a new solar battery. Bell had funded the research. The first public
service trial of the Bell Solar Battery began with a telephone carrier system (Americus,
Georgia) on October 4, 1955.

 1964—Duracell was incorporated.

 2007- in August 2007 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a research team conducted

by Dr. Robert Linhardt; Dr.Omkaram Nalamasu and Dr.Pulickel Ajayan, developed
the Paper battery.

 2009-In December 2009 at Stanford University, Yi Cui and his research team
successfully invented the original working prototype that provides 1.5 V as its terminal
voltage.
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Drawbacks:
The ordinary Electro-Chemical battery faces many problems like:
1. Limited life time: The primary batteries can’t be recharged like secondary batteries.
They irreversibly convert chemical energy into the electrical energy. Although the
secondary batteries may be rechargeable, the life time may be very short and also they are
very costlier than the primary ones. The paper battery provides a better advantage of all
these problems.

2. Environmental Influence: The extensive use of batteries can generate environmental

pollutions like toxic metal pollutions etc. But the Paper batteries are environmentally
friendly and can decompose very easily without any abuse.

3. Leakage: If by chance any leakage of batteries occurred, the chemical released may be
very dangerous to the environment and also to the nearby metals which are in contact
with the batteries. But there is no toxic chemical in the paper batteries.
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paper battery 
Paper battery = paper (cellulose )+ carbon nanotubes
A paper battery is flexible, ultra-thin energy storage and production device formed by
combining carbon nanotubes with a conventional sheet of cellulose based paper. A paper
battery acts as both a high energy battery and super capacitor, combining two discrete
components that are separate in traditional electronics. Cellulose is a complex organic
substance found in paper and pulp; not digestible by humans. A carbon nanotube is a very
tiny cylinder formed from a single sheet of carbon atoms rolled into a tiny cylinder. These
are stronger than steel and more conducting than the best semiconductors. They can be
Single-walled or Multi-walled.

 The composition of these batteries is what sets them apart from traditional batteries.
 Paper is abundant and self-sustaining, which makes paper cheap.
 Disposing of paper is also inexpensive since paper is combustible as well
as biodegradable.
 Using paper gives the battery a great degree of flexibility.
 The battery can be bent or wrapped around objects instead of requiring a fixed casing.
 Also, being a thin, flat sheet, the paper battery can easily fit into tight places, reducing
the size and weight of the device it powers.

Properties of Paper Batteries:

The properties of Paper Batteries are mainly dependant to the properties of its constituents.
a)Properties of Cellulose
 It has a very high tensile strength and low shear strength.
 It is biodegradable.
 It is biocompatible.
 It has a great porosity & absorption capacity.
 It is easily reusable and recyclable
 It is non –toxic
b) Properties of Carbon Nanotube
 It has a high tensile Strength (Greater than Steel).
 It is very light and very flexible.
 It has very good electrical conductivity (better than silicon).
 It has low resistance (~33 ohm per sq. inch).

C) Additional Properties acquired by Paper Batteries:

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 Its Output Open Circuit Voltage (O.C.V): 1.5-2.5 V.

 The O.C.V. of Paper Batteries is directly proportional to CNT concentration.
 Stacking the Paper and CNT layers multiplies the Output Voltage.
i.e. For length, l = V volts
 Slicing the Paper and CNT layers divides the Output Voltage
i.e. For length,(l/2) =(V/2) volts

Construction:
Robert Linhardt from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute invented the original concept of paper
batteries about a decade ago.  He layered cellulose (paper) on conductive carbon nanotubes.
Even though the combined structure was sturdy enough to build batteries, it fell apart when it
was flexed. A Stanford University team led by Professor Yi Cui found a solution to the
problem. His group developed an ink by dispersing carbon nanotubes in an aqueous phase of
water and a surfactant. The aqueous ink was easily spread on paper after which water was
removed by evaporation in a heated oven.  As the water was driven off the nanotubes
adhered strongly to the paper resulting in a highly conductive piece of paper.
A simple paper battery can be constructed according to the following .
1. Take a piece of ordinary paper.
2. Coat the surface of one side of this paper with ionic solution.
3. Spread the carbon nanotubes ink over this ionic-coated paper.
4. Laminate the other side of the paper to a thin film of lithium.
5. Attach aluminum rods to the two surfaces to transfer current between two electrodes.

Working:
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The internal performance of paper batteries is identical to that of a traditional battery by

generating a voltage about 1.5V.

We can recall the working principles of a traditional batteries where ions (+ ve charged
particles) and electrons (- ve charged particles) moves between the electrodes, anode (+ve
electrode) and cathode (-ve electrode).

Due to the flow of electrons from cathode to anode, current start flowing from anode to
cathode along the conductor.

 Cathode:  Carbon Nanotube

 Anode: Lithium metal (Li+)
 Electrolyte: bio electrolytes like urine, blood and sweat. (All electrolytes can be used)
 Separator: Cellulose or Paper

Similarly in Paper Batteries, the metal (Lithium) is used as the anode and carbon nanotubes
as cathode and also the paper or cellulose is used as the separator.

Due to the chemical reaction between the electrolyte and carbon, electrons are generated.
Similarly due to the chemical reaction between electrolyte and metal, ions are generated.
These generated electrons starts flow through the external circuit from cathode to the anode.

APPLICATIONS
With the developing technologies and reducing cost of CNTs, the paper batteries will find
applications in the following fields:
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In Electronics:
 In laptop batteries, mobile phones, handheld digital cameras: The weight of these
devices can be significantly reduced by replacing the alkaline batteries with light-
weight Paper Batteries, without compromising with the power requirement. Moreover,
the electrical hazards related to recharging will be greatly reduced.
 In calculators, wrist watch and other low drain devices.
 In wireless communication devices like speakers, mouse, keyboard ,Bluetooth
headsets etc.
 In Enhanced Printed Circuit Board (PCB) wherein both the sides of the PCB can be
used: one for the circuit and the other side (containing the components) would contain
a layer of customized Paper Battery. This would eliminate heavy step-down
transformers and the need of separate power supply unit for most electronic circuits.

In Medical Sciences:
 In Pacemakers for the heart
 In Artificial tissues (using Carbon nanotubes)
 In Cosmetics, Drug-delivery systems
 In Biosensors, such as Glucose meters, Sugar meters, etc.

In Automobiles and Aircrafts:

 In Hybrid Car batteries

 In Long Air Flights reducing Refueling
 For Light weight guided missiles
 For powering electronic devices in Satellite programs

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
 Used as both battery and capacitor.
 It is flexible.
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 It is ultra thin energy storage device.

 Long lasting.
 Non toxic.
 Steady power production.
 Shaped for different applications.
 High efficiency.
 Available in different sizes.
 Energy efficient.
 It is light weight.
 It is more economical.
 Can be easily disposed.
 Can be recharged.
 Generates close to 1.5 Volts of energy.

Disadvantages
 Prone to tearing.
 Nanotubes made from carbon are expensive due to use of procedures like electrolysis
and laser ablation.
 Should not be inhaled, as they can damage lungs.

Current Analysis & future scope

Scientists have developed batteries of size slightly larger than a postal stamp that can
produce energy that is enough to illuminate a small bulb. In future we can expect a stack of
paper batteries that is able to power up a car. These are the power source to next generation
electronic devices, medical devices, pace makers, hybrid vehicles, etc.
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Each sheet of battery-paper can generate about 2.4 volts with a power density of about 0.6
milliamps/cm2.

For higher voltages, paper can be stacked. For more current, the sheets can be expanded to
larger areas.

The battery-paper operates from minus 100 degrees up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and can
deliver quick surges of current, as claimed by the RPI researchers. It can also be rolled
twisted or cut into many shapes.

So far, the RPI researchers have only cycled their paper batteries through 100 rechargings.
But they claim no deterioration in performance has been detected after recharging. Next, they
plan long-term testing of the batteries to determine the maximum number of rechargings, and
to optimize the design for higher power densities.

Since the paper is biocompatible, the researchers will also experiment with powering medical
implants with paper batteries that could use blood and sweat as liquid electrolytes.

Finally, the researchers want to perfect methods for printing batteries and supercapacitors
using traditional roll-to-roll printing presses.

References:
www.SeminarsTopics.com

www.eetimes.com

www.extremetech.com
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www.chemical-materials.elsevier.com

www.mepits.com

www.google.com