- Gadget-transparent
As reported daily TGDaily, Yi Cui, one of the scientists at Stanford University, said he envisioned a transparent iPhone. Not something that is impossible because in the end can make it happen Cui although still in small scale: a transparent battery.
There is now a number of gadgets designed in a transparent form. Items such as digital photo frame and mobile phone keyboard is an example, but all the gadgets that remains its strength comes from the standard battery is not at all transparent.
Due to various critical components can not really be made transparent, then Cui and his team needed a way to create a battery that allows other components that are smaller in it can be seen.
“If there is an object smaller than 50 microns, then your eyes will feel it as transparent,” said graduate student Yuan Yang.
Yang and Cui then construct a framework that resembles a net to put the battery electrodes, with each ‘line’ in the grid only has a width of 35 microns. Because each line is very thin, then all areas of the circuit is transparent.
The two men then managed to create a compound, transparent and slightly chewy intangible known as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the grid above.
“PDMS is quite cheap, and already used in plastic surgery and contact lenses,” said Yang. “But that is not conductive, so we have to add metal to it to make it conductive.”
Furthermore, Yang developed a special transparent substance which he will insert in between the electrodes. He modifies an electrolyte gel to make it function as an electrolyte and separator. This was done by stacking layers that make up the battery.
During the gridlines can be matched accurately, then the battery that will create tangible transparent; 62% of its impenetrable to light. While approximately 60% managed transparently even with three full cells are stacked one another. But it is unfortunately only has half the power of the batteries made from lithium-ion batteries.
“The energy density is still lower than lithium batteries,” said Yang. “That’s the equivalent made from nickel-cadmium batteries.”
But Yang and Cui believes that advances in materials science will be able to fix it. And because there is a chance to become too commercial then Cui-filed for a patent of what he created with his team’s.
“The cost can be equal to a normal battery, especially if we use low cost metal as a current collector, there is no reason to sell expensive,” said Cui.
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