[Timo]

If we keep gaining new insights like this, what will happen to all of those coal miners, and those oil drillers, and all of those people who slave away just to bring us electricity for a profit? If everyone had their own abilities to generate and store electricity at their homes, just think of all of the trillions spent on our status quo way of life. Won't somebody please think of the children???

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-graphite-future-energy-storage.html

A combination of two ordinary materials – graphite and water – could produce energy storage systems that perform on par with lithium ion batteries, but recharge in a matter of seconds and have an almost indefinite lifespan.

Dr. Dan Li, of the Monash University Department of Materials Engineering, and his research team have been working with a material called graphene, which could form the basis of the next generation of ultrafast energy storage systems.

“Once we can properly manipulate this material, your iPhone, for example, could charge in a few seconds, or possibly faster.” said Dr. Li.

Graphene is the result of breaking down graphite, a cheap, readily available material commonly used in pencils, into layers one atom thick. In this form, it has remarkable properties.

Graphene is strong, chemically stable, an excellent conductor of electricity and, importantly, has an extremely high surface area.

Dr. Li said these qualities make graphene highly suitable for energy storage applications.

“The reason graphene isn’t being used everywhere is that these very thin sheets, when stacked into a usable macrostructure, immediately bond together, reforming graphite. When graphene restacks, most of the surface area is lost and it doesn’t behave like graphene anymore.”

Now, Dr. Li and his team have discovered the key to maintaining the remarkable properties of separate graphene sheets: water. Keeping graphene moist – in gel form – provides repulsive forces between the sheets and prevents re-stacking, making it ready for real-world application.

“The technique is very simple and can easily be scaled up. When we discovered it, we thought it was unbelievable. We’re taking two basic, inexpensive materials – water and graphite – and making this new nanomaterial with amazing properties,” said Dr. Li.

When used in energy devices, graphene gel significantly outperforms current carbon-based technology, both in terms of the amount of charge stored and how fast the charges can be delivered.

Dr. Li said the benefits of developing this new nanotechnology extend beyond consumer electronics.

“High-speed, reliable and cost-effective energy storage systems are critical for the future viability of electricity from renewable resources. These systems are also the key to large-scale adoption of electrical vehicles.

“Graphene gel is also showing promise for use in water purification membranes, biomedical devices and sensors.”

[lper100km]

Don’t get too excited yet. It’s a battery material, not a generator and I can’t get too excited about fast charging cell phones and laptops. Where storage battery use would be maximized and essential is by supporting non fossil fuel, intermittent and distributed power generation.

Maybe they should do a deal with Rossi and eCat. Now, that would be exciting.

[Timo]

The sun is shining here where i sit. That's all the energy (and then some) all of us collectively will ever need. Let the sun shine down. Use some of its energy now. Store some more of its energy for later use, like at night, or on a cloudy day. Imagine if everybody had an energy storage device and a roof mounted solar PV system, just the same way everybody now has a refrigerator, cable TV, and a cellphone, and an ipad. Free energy! But, then again, this country wouldn't have any capitalistic mechanism to pay down our national debt. Never mind. Forward thinking is so yesterday.

[mad_marten]

I've never managed to complete a science "news" article in physorg.com? I find those pesky popup commercials for toothpaste, viagra, and underwater real estate annoying. Is this one different?

Try sciencedaily.com MUCH less annoying