Posted in | News | Nanomaterials | Nanoenergy

Carbon-Based Nanosheets Processed from Natural Silk Holds Promise for Energy Storage Devices

Lithium-ion batteries have enabled many of today's electronics, from portable gadgets to electric cars. But much to the frustration of consumers, none of these batteries last long without a recharge. Now scientists report in the journal ACS Nano the development of a new, "green" way to boost the performance of these batteries -- with a material derived from silk.

Chuanbao Cao and colleagues note that carbon is a key component in commercial Li-ion energy storage devices including batteries and supercapacitors. Most commonly, graphite fills that role, but it has a limited energy capacity. To improve the energy storage, manufacturers are looking for an alternative material to replace graphite. Cao's team wanted to see if they could develop such a material using a sustainable source.

The researchers found a way to process natural silk to create carbon-based nanosheets that could potentially be used in energy storage devices. Their material stores five times more lithium than graphite can -- a capacity that is critical to improving battery performance. It also worked for over 10,000 cycles with only a 9 percent loss in stability. The researchers successfully incorporated their material in prototype batteries and supercapacitors in a one-step method that could easily be scaled up, the researchers note.

Source: http://www.acs.org

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    American Chemical Society. (2019, February 11). Carbon-Based Nanosheets Processed from Natural Silk Holds Promise for Energy Storage Devices. AZoNano. Retrieved on December 11, 2023 from https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=32295.

  • MLA

    American Chemical Society. "Carbon-Based Nanosheets Processed from Natural Silk Holds Promise for Energy Storage Devices". AZoNano. 11 December 2023. <https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=32295>.

  • Chicago

    American Chemical Society. "Carbon-Based Nanosheets Processed from Natural Silk Holds Promise for Energy Storage Devices". AZoNano. https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=32295. (accessed December 11, 2023).

  • Harvard

    American Chemical Society. 2019. Carbon-Based Nanosheets Processed from Natural Silk Holds Promise for Energy Storage Devices. AZoNano, viewed 11 December 2023, https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=32295.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit