Graphene won the Nobel Prize in 2010. A two dimensional lattice of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms with an extended Pi network that allows for the free flow of electricity within the plane of the layer of graphene. An electrical conductor. It was initially fabricated by sticking a piece of Scotch Tape to a piece of graphite and peeling off one layer of graphene at a time. Nobel Prize
Lets fast forward to now:
new uses for graphene and new ways to make graphene and stacked sheets thereof.
Heres an novel idea, lets stack two (or more) graphene sheets together in order to create the most high efficiency super capacitor ever known.
This has now been done.
Through research in Prof. Richard Kaner's lab (Chem and Biochem, UCLA), graduate student Maher El-Kady discovered an new way to make graphene and a way to stack in separated layers .....
a way to make super-capacitor batteries.
The Super Supercapacitor | Brian Golden Davis from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.
I think this may be one of the best discoveries of the last century.
The big question is, can it be scaled safely into commercial batteries?
Fri Apr 12, 2013 at 10:50 PM PT: One way to think of graphene, is as a buckyball (a soccer ball of carbon) unfolded and flattened out into a sheet.