No, it is not a paper crane — it is a battery. A research team led jointly by Lee Sun-young at the Korea Forest Research Institute and Lee Sang-young of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology has developed a foldable, windable and bendable battery.
Fold a square diagonally in half. Hold the two ends of the square and fold it along the diagonal line. Then fold one end up, and again. You now have a paper crane. However, this paper crane looks a little different. It definitely looks like a paper crane, but in fact the art in front of you is not made from a sheet of paper. It is made from a battery.
Lee Sun-young at the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and Lee Sang-young at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed with their team a new technology that can produce a foldable, windable and bendable lithium-ion battery using nanocellulose from trees.
Advanced Functional Materials, a scientific journal, recently published their research. Last year in September, the team made its first bendable battery, and this time it has developed its work into a foldable battery whose shape is changeable. Moreover, this new foldable battery lasts three times longer than the previous one.
A recent issue of Advanced Functional Materials features the new ‘paper battery’ technology.
“We used an eco-friendly material from trees and this flexible battery lasts much longer than the previous ones. We expect this foldable battery to contribute to the advancement of battery technology,” said Lee Sun-young of the KFRI.
This new foldable and flexible battery technology will cause a revolution in the lithium-ion battery market when the technology is commercialized, he said.
By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Korea Forest Research Institute
icchang@korea.kr
