A sophisticated nanostructure renders a wafer-thin paper
made of electrically conductive vanadium pentoxide fibres both tough and
pliable
Scientists in Stuttgart are currently doing things to a
ceramic, which would normally result in a pile of shards. They were the first
to produce a paper-like material from a vanadium pentoxide ceramic which is as
hard as copper, yet flexible enough to be rolled up or folded. The material is
also different from other ceramics, as it is electrically conductive. In a
project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the scientists from
Stuttgart University, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research produced the ceramic paper
consisting of conductive nanofibres of vanadium pentoxide in a straightforward
and simple way. The ceramic paper’s special mechanical properties are derived
from its structure, which resembles that of mother-of-pearl. The material looks
promising for applications in batteries, flat and flexible gas sensors and
actuators in artificial muscles.