According to Thai's theory, nanowires could last longer if covered. After experimenting with many coverings they found a hard, clear plastic material called PMMA. These wires when covered with PMMA cycled through charges 28 times more than the covered ones. "The coated electrode holds its shape much better, making it a more reliable option," Thai said. "This research proves that a nanowire-based battery electrode can have a long lifetime and that we can make these kinds of batteries a reality." Also, they showed no signs of damage even after 200,000 cycles. It is unknown how much further testing of the batteries is needed before it could make a commercial debut; however, this was published in The American Chemical Society's Energy Letters this week.
