"Zapped" graphene increases power density of lithium-ion batteries

That which doesn't kill it makes it stronger . . . Research has revealed that the action of "zapping" a sheet of graphene with a laser or super-concentrated camera flash actually helps it become a more powerful anode for lithium ion batteries. It works because the damage done to the sheet allows the ions to cycle more quickly through the cracks and newly-created pores, without damaging the actual charging ability of the battery.

The new material is made from graphene, which is the world's thinnest material. They took a sheet of graphene and blasted it with a camera flash or laser to deform it, causing several pores and cracks. This made the graphene sheet a great anode for lithium ion batteries because the lithium ions could cut through the pores/cracks to charge and discharge rather than run the entire length of graphene (which took much longer). This ultimately increased the power density. Source

Other research revealed graphene's self-healing capacity to "knit" itself back together. Hole-burning "metals" which were initially thought to damage sheets of graphene were later discovered to magically mend themselves. Source

Applying graphene to solar panel technology

Researchers Develop Method to Create Photovoltaic Solar Cells from Any Materials

Graphene's awesomeness can also be applied to solar panel technologies. The article is a little. . . chewy, but the basic gist is that a single layer of graphene applied to a panel creates somewhat of self-fueling system to power the "self-gating configuration, in which the gate was powered internally by the electrical activity of the cell itself."

Under the SFPV system, the architecture of the top electrode is structured so that at least one of the electrode’s dimensions is confined. In one configuration, working with copper oxide, the Berkeley researchers shaped the electrode contact into narrow fingers; in another configuration, working with silicon, they made the top contact ultra-thin (single layer graphene) across the surface. With sufficiently narrow fingers, the gate field creates a low electrical resistance inversion layer between the fingers and a potential barrier beneath them. A uniformly thin top contact allows gate fields to penetrate and deplete/invert the underlying semiconductor. The results in both configurations are high quality p-n junctions.

http://theenergycollective.com/energyrefuge/98631/researchers-develop-method-create-photovoltaic-solar-cells-any-materials