The infamous wonder material is becoming even more wonderful with this new development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Scientist from UIUC have developed a novel process to transform flat graphene from 2D to 3D with a simple and commercially available single-step process. The process uses thermally activated shape-memory polymer substrates to texture the graphene and “crumple” it to give it an increased surface space. With the easy of this process and the increased surface space of the…
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In honor of Alessandro Volta’s 270th birthday, Google is celebrating the man best known for inventing the first battery with today’s Google Doodle. While Volta was a trained physicist, many consider him to be the first great electrochemist. By inventing the first battery, which he called the electric “pile”, he established the starting point of electrochemical science and technology with the first notable electrochemical storage device. The turning point for Volta’s development of the battery came in 1780, when his…
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An article by A. K. Shukla and T. Prem Kumar in the Fall 2008 issue of Interface. Although there is some archaeological evidence which suggests that some form of a primitive battery (sometimes called a Baghdad battery) was used for electroplating in Mesopotamia ca. 200 BC, electrochemistry as we know it today had its genesis in the pile of crowns of Alessandro Volta in 1800. The inspiration for his studies might have come from the famous frog leg experiments of…
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A new discovery from the National University of Singapore has yielded a material that could be used to create battery-free, wearable sensors to power your electronics from the energy generated via muscle movement. The sensor, which is the size of a postage stamp, uses human skin as one of its charge-collectors. The device takes advantage of static electricity to convert mechanical energy into electricity. It is powered by the wear’s daily activities such as walking, talking, or simply holding an…
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The Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES) is publishing focus issues related to IMLB (International Meeting on Lithium Batteries) beginning with the 2014 meeting. Important to note is that this focus issue is completely Open Access, enabling a much broader audience to read these papers than would have access with a subscription-only issue. Go to the table of contents now! Twenty-one papers have here been selected for this focus issue. These papers touch upon many important new aspects in the…
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The Electrochemical Society’s Yossef A. Elabd is using electrochemical science to work toward global sustainability with his new advancements in fuel cell car technology. Elabd, an active member of ECS’s Battery Division, has developed two fuel cell vehicle platforms for both present day enhancements and future innovation – focusing not only on the science, but also the environment. “I just want to drive my car with water vapor coming out the back of it,” Elabd said. With this new technology…
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Materials scientists have developed a new technique that could provide a simpler and more effective way to produce electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors, which could potentially lead to devices with improved energy and power densities. The researchers have unlocked this new battery technology by exposing tiny bits of graphene to a process that is very similar to deep-frying. Prior to this development, scientists had difficulty using graphene in electrodes due to the difficulty encountered when processing the material. However,…
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The ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV convening in Glasgow, Scotland at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre from July 26-31, 2015 is the first of a series of planned biennial conferences in Europe by ECS on electrochemical energy conversion/storage materials, concepts, and systems. We are creating a forum where scientists and engineers can come together and discuss fundamental advances and engineering innovations. Abstracts are due February 20, 2015 Find out more about submitting your abstract…
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New technology developed by researchers at the University of Michigan has been designed with the intention of preventing fires caused by lithium-ion battery malfunctions. Researchers are making this possible by creating an advanced barrier between the electrodes in the lithium-ion battery. The barrier is made with nanofibers extracted from Kevlar – the material known for its use in bulletproof vests. The Kevlar nanofibers stifle the growth of metal tendrils that can become unwanted pathways for electrical current. “Unlike other ultra…
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