ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Disposable paper battery is activated by just a drop of water

Tiny, cheap batteries like this could someday turn anything into an electronic device.

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
July 29, 2022
in Chemistry, Future, News, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Scientists have devised a low-power battery made from paper coated with graphite and zinc. Like a cooking recipe, the paper battery stays dormant until you add water. The ultra-thin device could power tiny yet useful electronics, such as real-time parcel trackers, environmental monitors, and medical sensors.

Illustration of the water-activated paper battery. Its electrochemical (EC) cell is composed of a paper membrane sandwiched between a zinc-based cathode and a graphite-based air cathode. Credit: Scientific Reports.

“With rising awareness of the e-waste problem and the emergence of single-use electronics for applications like environmental sensing and food monitoring, there is a growing need for low environmental impact batteries. This shift from the traditional performance-oriented figure of merits creates new opportunities for unconventional materials and designs that can provide a balance between performance and environmental impact,” wrote the authors of the new study.

Researchers at Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) led by Gustav Nyström started off with literally a piece of paper. On one side, they printed a circuit using graphite ink, acting as a cathode. The other side was printed using zinc powder ink to make the anode side.

The final piece of a battery is the electrolyte. In this case, the small rectangular sheet of paper was soaked with a salt. But the circuit doesn’t open until you add a drop of water, which sets off a chemical reaction that allows electrons to flow through the battery.

However, don’t imagine you can power your phone or anything fancy like that. During one experiment, a battery made from two paper cells powered an LCD display that worked as an alarm clock. The battery turned on just 20 seconds after two drops of water were added. The display showed the time for about an hour until the paper dried off and the current was switched off. After another two drops of water were added, the device ran for another hour. Adding more zinc to the paper will increase battery life, but this is the type of battery life we’re talking about with this technology.

“To facilitate additive manufacturing, we developed electrodes and current collector inks that can be stencil printed on paper to create water-activated batteries of arbitrary shape and size,” the researchers wrote in their study.

“Once activated, a single cell provides an open circuit potential of 1.2 V and a peak power density of 150 µW/cm2 at 0.5 mA.”

RelatedPosts

Fun GIF shows what hydrophobic coating can do
One of the largest ecosystems on Earth lives beneath the seafloor and eats radiation byproducts
‘Mononoke Tilefish’ — New Deep-Sea Species Named After Legendary Studio Ghibli Princess
How much of our emissions come from agriculture?

Both paper and zinc are biodegradable and could be recycled in the right conditions. This makes this low-power battery quite useful for real-time tracking of packages. After a parcel is delivered, the packaging can be safely discarded.

Previously, researchers elsewhere made aqueous batteries based on inorganic materials like magnesium, iron, tungsten, and molybdenum, but to our knowledge, this paper battery is the first water-activated device that is biodegradable and non-toxic.

The findings appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

ShareTweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Health

Tennis May Add Nearly 10 Years to Your Life and Most People Are Ignoring It

byTibi Puiu
10 hours ago
Anthropology

Humans Have Been Reshaping Earth with Fire for at Least 50,000 Years

byTudor Tarita
11 hours ago
Biology

The Strangest Microbe Ever Found Straddles The Line Between Life and Non-Life

byTudor Tarita
11 hours ago
News

This $8750 Watch Was Designed for Space and Could Finally Replace Apollo-era Omega Watches

byTudor Tarita
12 hours ago

Recent news

Tennis May Add Nearly 10 Years to Your Life and Most People Are Ignoring It

July 4, 2025

Humans Have Been Reshaping Earth with Fire for at Least 50,000 Years

July 4, 2025

The Strangest Microbe Ever Found Straddles The Line Between Life and Non-Life

July 4, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.