Silicon Super Capacitors Could Replace Batteries

Silicon chip with porous surface
 being coated with graphene to
 create a supercapacitor electrode.

It seems that researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered a way to make silicon supercapacitors that would allow the creation of batteries that charge in minutes and work for weeks before needing to be recharged.

The researchers said in a paper that instead of storing energy in chemical reactions the way batteries do, silicon supercapacitors store electricity by assembling ions on the surface of a porous material. As a result, they charge in minutes, instead of hours, and operate for a few million cycles, instead of a few thousand cycles like batteries.

For more, here is a link to their research paper published in the October 22nd issue of Scientific Reports.