Like the charged power suit worn by Black Panther of Marvel Comics, UCF researchers have advanced NASA technologies to develop a power suit for an electric car that is as strong as steel, lighter than aluminum and helps boosts the vehicle's power capacity.
The suit is made of layered carbon composite material that works as an energy-storing supercapacitor-battery hybrid device due to its unique design at the nanoscale level.
The development appeared recently as the cover story in the journal Small and could have applications in a range of technologies that require lightweight sources of power, from electric vehicles to spacecraft, airplanes, drones, portable devices and wearable tech.
"Our idea is to use the body shells to store energy to supplement the power stored in batteries," says study co-author Jayan Thomas, the team leader and a professor in UCF's NanoScience Technology Center and Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
"The advantage is that this composite can reduce the weight of your car and increase the miles per charge," he says. "It is as strong as or even stronger than steel but much lighter."
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