New Scientist is reporting on printable batteries with carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes.
The batteries were created by George Gruner and colleagues at the University of California in Los Angeles, US, and use the same zinc-carbon chemistry as ordinary non-rechargeable batteries.
To make the battery, a layer of nanotubes is first deposited in the form of “nanotube ink” [...]
As reported in Science magazine (”An Integrated Logic Circuit Assembled on a Single Carbon Nanotube”; 24 March 2006; Vol. 311, no. 5768, p. 1735), researchers at IBM in New York and co-workers have created a ring oscillator on a single carbon nanotube.
According to the BBC, running at 50 megahertz,
the circuit is 100,000 times faster than [...]
Supercapacitors or ultracapacitors use electrodes with very high surface area (e.g. porous activated carbon) and are currently used in niche application such as hybrid vehicles.
Among the advantages over electrochemical batteries are the high charge/discharge rate and stability. However, energy densities are relatively low compared to traditional batteries.
New electrode materials with increased surface area have the [...]
As reported here, Nantero is using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for a mechanical-switch type non-volatile memory (NRAM). Ribbons of nanotubes are suspended between raised points on a substrate. Applying a voltage to an electrode beneath a CNT bridge, causes the nanotubes to bend downwards until in contact with the substrate. Due to van der Waals [...]