A research team from South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology claim they have developed a "fluid-like" polymer electrolyte that are used for lithium-ion batteries.
"This could help speed up the production of smartphones with flexible displays, such as Samsung's Youm flexible OLED display." At the CES 2013, Samsung showed off a prototype for a flexible smartphone, which it calls 'Youm'.
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| Korean scientists develop world's first "flexible" battery |
The batteries use nanomaterials which can be applied to any surface to create fluid-like polymer electrolytes, say researchers.
"Conventional lithium-ion batteries that use liquefied electrolytes had problems with safety as the film that separates the electrolytes may melt under heat, in which case the positive and negative may come in contact, causing an explosion," the lead of the project Prof. Lee Sang-young said.
"Because the new battery uses flexible but solid materials, and not liquids, it can be expected to show a much higher level of stability than conventional rechargeable batteries."
This research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
