Scientists develop an energy-efficient wireless power and information transfer system

Science Daily   September 5, 2023 A simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT)-enabled nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system has been recognized as a promising technology for enabling the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), as it extends the lifetime of small battery-driven sensors. However, its energy efficiency significantly decreases with distance from the central controller. Researchers in South Korea proposed a framework for applying SWIPT-aided NOMA system to a distributed antenna system (DAS) to improve the spectral efficiency and energy efficiency of the IIoT. They optimized the power allocation for the NOMA signaling and power splitting for SWIPT in the DAS […]

Team develops novel sponge-based triboelectric nanogenerator for corrosion protection in transportation systems

Phys.org  September 5, 2023 Researchers in China demonstrated highly elastic, and pressure-resistance sponge fabricated TENG capable of adapting to high strength impact in land and water transportation and scalable for any shape for harvesting wave energy and mechanical energy. The sponge had interconnected network and large size ratio of cavity-wall suitable for contact and separation enabled higher output due to the combination of the electronegativity, adhesion, and antioxidant ability. The operation modes provided options for different operating condition and enabled higher output due to the combination of the electronegativity, excellent adhesion, and antioxidant ability… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Scientists find link between photosynthesis and ‘fifth state of matter’

Science Daily  May 3, 2023 Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons enables frictionless energy transfer, but typically occurs under extreme conditions in highly ordered materials, such as graphene double layers. Photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes demonstrate extremely efficient transfer of energy in disordered systems under ambient conditions. Researchers at the University of Chicago established a link between the two phenomena by investigating the potential for exciton-condensate-like amplification of energy transport in room-temperature light harvesting. Using a model of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex and accounting for intrachromophore electron correlation explicitly through the addition of multiple sites to the individual chromophores, they observed amplification of the exciton […]

Nanoparticles self-assemble to harvest solar energy

Science Daily  February 21, 2023 Most disordered organic polymers are almost incapable of limiting the absorption in the desired cutoff wavelength range, which is detrimental to the design of selective absorbers. An international team of researchers (China, Singapore) reports a scalable selective absorber with a quasiperiodic nanostructure composed by an economical widespread surface self-assembly of densely arranged Fe3O4 nanoparticles, possessing a high-performance energy conversion for low-grade solar energy. By investigating the scale effect of the quasiperiodic densely arranged plasmonic nanostructure, a significant solar absorption >94% and ideal passive suppression of thermal emissivity <0.2 could be obtained simultaneously. With the synergy […]

High-performance and compact vibration energy harvester created for self-charging wearable devices

Science Daily  November 29, 2022 Vibration energy harvesters suffer from a significant drop in performance for non-steady-state vibrations, which are important for practical applications. Researchers in Japan demonstrated that the output power under an impulsive force can be increased significantly by placing a U-shaped metal component, called a dynamic magnifier (DM), under a MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (MEMS-pVEH) with a Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 film. Based on the results of numerical calculations they designed DM to have the same resonant frequency as the MEMS-pVEH and a high mechanical quality factor (). They measured the waveforms of the output voltage of the fabricated […]

Heat-resistant nanophotonic material could help turn heat into electricity

Nanowerk  September 22, 2022 A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan, University of Virginia) has developed materials using destructive interference phenomenon to reflect infrared energy while letting shorter wavelengths pass through. Using pulsed laser, they deposited oxides of calcium and titanium oxides. Oxides made the material more durable, less likely to degrade at high temperature, and they could be more precisely layered. The material controlled the flow of infrared radiation and was stable at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in air, a nearly twofold improvement over existing approaches. After testing they confirmed that the material worked as […]

Scientists Have Powered a Basic Computer With Just Algae For Over 6 Months

Science Alert   May 13, 2022 An international team of researchers (UK, Italy, Norway New Zealand) has developed a bio-photovoltaic energy harvester system using photosynthetic microorganisms on an aluminium anode that can power a microprocessor widely used in Internet of Things applications. The proposed energy harvester has operated the microprocessor for over six months in a domestic environment under ambient light. It is comparable in size to an AA battery, and is built using common, durable, inexpensive, and largely recyclable materials… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE 

Electronic nanogenerator tattoos as human-machine interfaces

Nanowerk  April 19, 2022 Although triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have proven to be excellent candidates for wearable energy harvesters, they commonly face the hurdles of poor adhesion to skin and relative thick in geometry up to several cm. Researchers in China have introduced tattoo-like triboelectric nanogenerators (TL-TENGs) made with ultrathin materials with outstanding mechanical property of high robustness and thickness of tens of μm. They have remarkable electrical characteristics, with open-circuit voltage and short circuit current reaching up to ≈180 V and ≈2.2 μA under constant tapping (≈16 kPa), respectively. With the well structural mechanics designs, the TL-TENGs can be customized […]

Solar cell also generates electricity from raindrops on rainy days

Nanowerk  March 24, 2022 The low efficiency of raindrop energy harvesting is a dominating barrier to the raindrop solar cells in practical applications. An international team of researchers (China, Egypt) has developed a MoO3/top electrode-based triboelectric nanogenerator (MT-TENG) with high rain droplet energy conversion efficiency, integrated with a perovskite solar cell through shared electrodes. The interface electrons between the triboelectric layer and electrode were blocked by the MoO3 layer with high permittivity and wide bandgap, and the MoO3-based TENG (M-TENG) increased the surface charge density. The top electrode structure in the solid–liquid interface increased the output charge by 101.1 times […]

Spinning electricity under the sky

Nanowerk  March 8, 2022 In thermoelectric materials the hot side can be easily obtained by excess heat. Since thermoelectric voltage is proportional to the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides, efficient passive cooling to increase the temperature gradient is of critical importance. Researchers in Japan have designed a magnetic hybrid system where radiative cooling occurs at the top, as heat is lost from a material in the form of infrared radiation, while solar radiation is absorbed at the bottom. They demonstrated this concept by using the spin Seebeck effect. The device shows the highest thermoelectric voltage when both […]