Science Daily September 21, 2023 Quasi-1D nanoribbons provide a unique route to diversifying the properties of their parent 2D nanomaterial, introducing lateral quantum confinement and an abundance of edge sites. Phosphorus-only materials do not conduct electricity very well, hindering their use for certain applications. Researchers in the UK created a new family of nanomaterials with the creation of arsenic–phosphorus alloy nanoribbons (AsPNRs). By ionically etching the layered crystal black arsenic–phosphorus using lithium electride followed by dissolution in amidic solvents, solutions of AsPNRs were formed. The ribbons were typically few-layered, several micrometers long with widths tens of nanometers across, and both […]
Tag Archives: Battery technology
Innovative paper-like, battery-free, AI-enabled sensor for holistic wound monitoring
Nanowerk June 26, 2023 Researchers in Singapore developed a paper-like battery-free in situ AI-enabled multiplexed (PETAL) sensor for holistic wound assessment by leveraging deep learning algorithms. This sensor consisted of a wax-printed paper panel with five colorimetric sensors for temperature, pH, trimethylamine, uric acid, and moisture. Sensor images captured by a mobile phone were analyzed by neural network–based machine learning algorithms to determine healing status. For ex situ detection via exudates collected from rat perturbed wounds and burn wounds, the PETAL sensor could classify healing versus nonhealing status with an accuracy as high as 97%. With the sensor patches attached […]
MIT engineers build a battery-free, wireless underwater camera
MIT News September 26, 2022 Existing methods for underwater imaging are unsuitable for scalable, long-term, in situ observations because they require tethering for power and communication. Researchers at MIT have developed an underwater backscatter imaging, a method for scalable, real-time wireless imaging of underwater environments using fully submerged battery-free cameras that power up from harvested acoustic energy, capture color images using ultra-low-power active illumination and a monochrome image sensor and communicate wirelessly at net-zero-power via acoustic backscatter. They demonstrated wireless battery-free imaging of animals, plants, pollutants, and localization tags in enclosed and open-water environments. The method’s self-sustaining nature makes it […]
Energy storage materials built from nano-sized molecular blocks
Phys.org September 20, 2022 Researchers in Sweden have developed a method for producing solid materials from aqueous solutions containing nano-sized niobium molecules, called polyoxoniobates which are water-soluble. They act as molecular building blocks to make a wide range of materials, including supercapacitors that facilitate lithium-ion storage. The nanometer sized molecules can be dissolved in water and spin coated to deposit thin films of niobium pentoxide. When the films are heated to temperatures ranging from 200 to 1200°C, surfaces with varying corrosion resistance and electrochemical properties are obtained. This approach facilitates deposition of alkali-free, metal oxide thin films with varying crystallinity, […]
Low-cost battery-like device absorbs CO2 emissions while it charges
Science Daily May 19, 2022 The most advanced carbon capture technologies currently require large amounts of energy and they are expensive. Researchers in the UK have designed a supercapacitor that consists of two electrodes of positive and negative charge. They found that alternating from a negative to a positive voltage improved the supercapacitor’s ability to capture carbon. When the electrodes become charged, the negative plate draws in the CO2 gas, while ignoring other emissions, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and water. Using this method, the supercapacitor both captures carbon and stores energy. They have developed a technique to understand the mechanism […]
‘Freeze-thaw battery’ is adept at preserving its energy
Science Daily April 5, 2022 Grid-level storage of seasonal excess can be an important asset to renewable electricity. As a proof-of-concept researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory applied the freeze-thaw thermal cycling strategy to Al-Ni molten salt batteries and demonstrated effective capacity recovery over 90% after a period of 1–8 weeks. They explored three activation methods of the nickel cathode in a molten-salt battery: (1) heat treating the cathode granules under H2/N2, (2) incorporating a partially charged NiCl2/Ni cathode, and (3) doping the molten salt electrolyte with sulfur. Sulfur doping, a cost-efficient method suitable for large-scale applications, was not only […]
‘Wrapping’ anodes in 3D carbon nanosheets: The next big thing in li-ion battery technology
Science Daily July 22, 2021 The anodes of lithium ion batteries in use today have multiple inadequacies. Researchers in South Korea focused on manganese selenide (MnSe) for its high electrical conductivity. To prevent the drastic volume change it undergoes, they uniformly infused the MnSe nanoparticles into a three-dimensional porous carbon nanosheet matrix. In the new anode material (MnSe ⊂ 3DCNM), the carbon nanosheet scaffold provided MnSe nanoparticles with a high number of active sites and an enhanced contact area with the electrolyte and protected them from drastic volume expansion. They synthesized a variety of MnSe ⊂ 3DCNM materials. Among these, […]
Nanoscale defects could boost energy storage materials
Phys.org May 11, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (Cornell University, Virginia Tech, Argonne National Laboratory) synthesized a garnet crystal structure, lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO), with various concentrations adding aluminum as a dopant. Through Bragg Coherent Diffractive Imaging they found the material’s morphology and atomic displacements. The researchers now plan to conduct a study that measures how the defects impact the performance of solid-state electrolytes in an actual battery. The study opens the possibility to design defects to make better energy storage materials…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Big breakthrough for ‘massless’ energy storage
Science Daily March 22, 2021 Stiff and strong batteries that use solid‐state electrolytes and resilient electrodes and separators are generally lacking. Researchers in Sweden have demonstrated a structural battery composite with unprecedented multifunctional performance featuring an energy density of 24 Wh kg−1 and an elastic modulus of 25 GPa and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa. The structural battery is made from multifunctional constituents, where reinforcing carbon fibers (CFs) act as electrode and current collector. A structural electrolyte is used for load transfer and ion transport and a glass fiber fabric separates the CF electrode from an aluminum foil‐supported lithium–iron–phosphate positive electrode. The battery performs […]
Engineers develop new fuel cells with twice the operating voltage as hydrogen
EurekAlert June 17, 2020 Researchers at Washington University have developed high-power direct borohydride fuel cells that operate at double the voltage of conventional hydrogen fuel cells. They pioneered a reactant identifying an optimal range of flow rates, flow field architectures and residence times that enable high power operation ensuring proper fuel and oxidant distribution and the mitigation of parasitic reactions. They demonstrated a single-cell operating voltage of 1.4 or greater, double that obtained in conventional hydrogen fuel cells, with peak powers approaching 1 watt/cm2. Doubling the voltage would allow for a smaller, lighter, more efficient fuel cell design. Their approach […]