One of the fundamental challenges of battery technology is that lithium-ion batteries — by far the best general option for energy storage currently in wide commercial use — are intrinsically bulky and heavy.
A new research team at the University of Central Florida believes they can challenge that problem by turning copper wires into supercapacitorsUnconventional internal design yields a larger capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive. per unit volume than other types. Valuable for high-current and low frequencyThe number of complete cycles or vibrations per unit of time. Rate of alternation in an AC current. Expressed in cycles per second or hertz (Hz). electrical circuits, power supply filters, etc. Applications are similar to those of rechargeable batteries., then embedding those wires into the fabric of your clothing or the body of a device. In theory, they could also be embedded throughout the body of a car, significantly boosting total energy storage and freeing up space in the trunk.
According to nanotechnology researcher Jayan Thomas, his work on the concept involves first heating copper wire to create nano-whiskers — nanoscale-sized tendrils of metal that split off from the main wire. These are then protected by a sheath of naturally forming copper oxide (produced when the wire is heated in air). This turns the nanowhisker into an electrodeA solid electric conductor through which an electric current enters or leaves in a medium. The entire structure is then wrapped in a plastic sheath, with a second set of nanowhiskers. The end result is a layered structure that looks like the feature image above — the copper wire in the center still conducts power, but the nanoscale structures store additional electricity as well.