Imagine powering your wearable devices simply by going for a morning jog or performing everyday activities like opening a door.
Thanks to new nanotechnology developed by researchers at the University of Surrey, this could soon be a reality.
The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) at the university has created a flexible, highly efficient type of nanogenerator that can convert small mechanical movements into electricity.
This innovation has the potential to revolutionize energy harvesting, particularly for powering small devices without needing batteries.
The technology developed at Surrey demonstrates a massive improvement over conventional nanogenerators. These new nanogenerators have shown a 140-fold increase in power density, meaning they can generate far more electricity from everyday movements.
To put it in perspective, if a traditional nanogenerator produces about 10 milliwatts of power, this new technology could boost that output to more than 1,000 milliwatts.
Such an increase makes it possible to use this technology for various real-world applications, from wearable devices to smart home systems.
The basic concept behind the device is similar to how an amplifier boosts sound in an electronic system. Just as an amplifier strengthens weak sound signals, this nanogenerator takes small amounts of mechanical energy and amplifies it into a much larger amount of electrical energy.
The technology works through a process called the charge regeneration effect. Instead of one part of the device passing energy on its own, it works like a relay team, with each part collecting and adding more energy before passing it on to the next.
This teamwork results in a much higher amount of energy being harvested from simple motions.
Md Delowar Hussain, the lead author of the study, explained the broader vision behind nanogenerators: capturing energy from everyday movements.
He noted that this could include anything from your daily run to mechanical vibrations, ocean waves, or even the motion of opening a door.
By refining the technology and using a laser to create 34 tiny energy collectors, the researchers were able to significantly improve the energy efficiency of the nanogenerators.
This development makes the technology scalable, meaning it could one day be produced on a large scale for widespread use.
One exciting possibility is that these nanogenerators could rival the power of solar panels. The tiny devices could generate enough electricity to run everything from self-powered sensors to smart home systems without ever needing battery replacements.
This is particularly promising for the future of smart technology, where devices that never need to be recharged or have their batteries replaced could become the norm.
The device is a type of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Triboelectric generators work by harnessing the energy that’s generated when certain materials come into contact and then separate.
This is similar to the static electricity that happens when you rub a balloon on your hair and it sticks to a wall. By using this principle, the nanogenerator can capture energy from everyday movements, turning simple actions into usable electricity.
Dr. Bhaskar Dudem, a co-author of the study, shared plans to take this technology further. The team is working on launching a company that focuses on self-powered healthcare sensors using this triboelectric technology.
These sensors could be non-invasive and would not need batteries to operate, providing a more sustainable solution for health tech. By focusing on industrial scalability, the researchers aim to make these innovations accessible on a larger scale.
The potential applications for this nanotechnology are vast. Professor Ravi Silva, another co-author and Director of the Advanced Technology Institute, emphasized how this technology could help address the energy demands of the future.
With predictions that over 50 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices will be in use in the coming years, local green energy solutions will be essential to power these devices.
Nanogenerators could provide a wireless, sustainable way to generate energy from mechanical movements, offering new opportunities to power everything from small sensors to autonomous wireless systems.
Professor Silva also highlighted other potential uses, such as security monitoring, IoT-based smart systems, and even devices to help support dementia patients. This could be particularly useful in healthcare, where Surrey has significant expertise.
By providing a local, green source of energy for these technologies, the team at the University of Surrey hopes to contribute to solving global energy challenges in a sustainable and innovative way.
In summary, the development of these advanced nanogenerators marks a significant step forward in energy harvesting technology.
By turning everyday movements into electricity, this technology could power a wide range of devices, from wearables to smart home systems, without the need for batteries.
As the technology continues to develop, it could provide an essential tool for sustainable energy generation in the future.
The research findings can be found in Nano Energy.
Copyright © 2024 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
