Story highlights
- Researchers receive UK government funding to develop graphene conductive ink batteries
- Received £500,000 funding from EPSRC
- Applications in energy storage, photovoltaics and smartphones.
(2D Materials Magazine)- Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University have received government funding to develop 3D printed graphene conductive ink batteries. Graphene is utilized to increase the battery storage capacity. According to Professor Craig Banks who is leading the project, “This project will be utilising the reported benefits of graphene, which is more conductive than metal, and applying these into energy storage systems. The architecture of energy storage systems can be improved through the use of 3D structures, which have high surface areas, good electrical properties and hierarchical pore structures/porous channels. We’re trying to achieve a conductive ink that blends the fantastic properties of graphene with the ease of use of 3D printing to be manipulated into a structure that’s beneficial for batteries and supercapacitors.”
The researchers have received £0.5 million funding from the EPSRC to develop new techniques for rapid 3D printing using conductive graphene ink to create the batteries. They are seeking to improve on existing techniques that utilize ‘semi-graphene’ inks that contain graphene in combination carbon black and graphite, which can reduce the material’s performance.
