Graphene is the most conductive material in the world, but because it is thin and flat it doesn’t have the surface area needed to be used in batteries.

To increase the size and shape of this so-called super-material, scientists in South Korea have used graphene's sheet-like structure to create ‘pom-poms’.

The 3D structures were made by dropping graphene oxide into hot solvent - a process that has been likened to deep-frying food.

Deep-fried pom-poms of graphene could ultimately make batteries in phones and tablets smaller, efficient, and more capable of storing and transferring charge.

It is not the first time 3D graphene has been created; previous methods have involved using foams and aerogels.

But the resulting materials were too large, resembled irregular balls of crumpled paper, or didn’t contain enough graphene.

Others used freeze-drying, which made the spheres smaller but isn’t deemed a quick or effective method.

Sang-Hoon Park and his colleagues at Yonsei University, in Seoul put flakes of graphene oxide into an ultrasonic nozzle, which used sound waves to create microdroplets.

These microdroplets were when sprayed into a mixture of organic solvent and ascorbic acid, at temperatures of 160°C (320°F).

In the solvent and acid, the graphene oxide was turned into graphene, the water in the droplets evaporated, and the resulting spheres resembled pom-poms.

As they formed, nanosheets in the graphene spilled out from the centre, creating ‘waves’ of particles.

This created so-called nanochannels, which increased the area in which charge could be transferred.

The findings were published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.

Early tests with the graphene pom-poms showed that they performed better as electrodes compared to typical sheets of graphene.

The researchers also used this process to add silicon to graphene.

Silicon has a high charge-storing capacity, but it changes shape during charging.

By placing it in a sphere with graphene, the particles create a so-called ‘carbon scaffold’ to restrict its movements.