Deep-fried Graphene ‘Pom-poms’ Could Lead to Better Batteries

WIRED.co.uk reported that batteries could be made smaller and more efficient by deep-fried “pom-poms” made of wonder material graphene.

As quoted in the market news:

The super-material, which is just one atom thick, has been turned into three-dimensional structures by spraying graphene oxide droplets into a hot solvent.

The new technique provides a simple means of using graphene to make electrode materials for batteries. Graphene is the most conductive material known to man, but its physical properties require it to be altered for use in batteries.  As graphene is very thin and flat its surface area is limited — this is key as the surface area of an electrode has a huge impact on battery power.

Experiments to make 3D blobs of graphene have had mixed results, but now material scientists at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea have claimed a breakthrough. The team used a process likened to deep-frying to create graphene nanospheres and microspheres that are ideally suited for use as electrodes. The findings were published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.

Click here to read the full WIRED.co.uk report.