The results of the study were published Thursday in Nature Scientific Reports.
New Frontier in Battery Manufacturing
The research is a step forward for scientists and engineers working to consolidate batteries and explore ways to cut down on storage restrictions, said Yan Wang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He called the work a "significant development" in battery manufacturing but added the team still has work ahead of it before it can revolutionize the industry.
"The drawbacks include the cycle life and rate performance," he told TechNewsWorld. "The performance needs to be as good as the state-of-the-art of lithium-ion batteries. The paper has only about 60 cycles, which is still too short for real applications."
The current product is also limited in scope because it cannot be handled by non-professionals and still can't stand all outside elements.
"To be able to make batteries at home we need to develop materials that are safer, non-toxic and do not degrade in the presence of air or moisture," said Singh.
Practical Implications Down the Line
The team has acknowledged those drawbacks and is already working on the next step to making the spray-on battery a viable product, said Singh.
"We have demonstrated the concept of paintable batteries, and the next step is to develop new materials for the battery that are not air- or moisture-sensitive, [and are] non-toxic and safe to handle by non-experts," said Singh. "We are also working on developing paints for packaging the battery and making every layer, including packaging, by spray-painting technique."
If the researchers can improve the life of the spray-on battery, Wang said, it could still be several years before a product hits the market. But if it does, the practical applications could be widespread across industries that are experimenting with battery power, the biggest possibility being with solar power, said Singh. Since solar panels require large surface areas, the design could be ideal.
"Our current work is the demonstration of the paintable battery concept, but it opens up immense possibilities of integration with energy capture devices such as solar cells, as well as objects of daily use," she said. "We think that it can be used with printed electronics, RFID or other smart objects."