A breakthrough in energy storage technology could bring a new generation of flexible electronic devices to life, including solar-powered prosthetics for amputees.
In a new paper published in the journal Advanced Science, a team of engineers from the University of Glasgow discuss how they have used layers of graphene and polyurethane to create a flexible supercapacitor which can generate power from the sun and store excess energy for later use.
They demonstrate the effectiveness of their new material by powering a series of devices, including a string of 84 power-hungry LEDs and the high-torque motors in a prosthetic hand, allowing it to grasp a series of objects.
The research towards energy autonomous e-skin and wearables is the latest development from the University of Glasgow’s Bendable Electronics and Sensing Technologies (BEST) research group, led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya.
The top touch sensitive layer developed by the BEST group researchers is made from graphene, a highly flexible, transparent ‘super-material’ form of carbon layers just one atom thick.
Sunlight which passes through the top layer of graphene is used to generate power via a layer of flexible photovoltaic cells below. Any surplus power is stored in a newly-developed supercapacitor, made from a graphite-polyurethane composite.
The team worked to develop a ratio of graphite to polyurethane which provides a relatively large, electroactive surface area where power-generating chemical reactions can take place, creating an energy-dense flexible supercapacitor which can be charged and discharged very quickly.
Similar supercapacitors developed previously have delivered voltages of one volt or less, making single supercapacitors largely unsuited for powering many electronic devices. The team’s new supercapacitor can deliver 2.5 volts, making it more suited for many common applications.
In laboratory tests, the supercapacitor has been powered, discharged and powered again 15,000 times with no significant loss in its ability to store the power it generates.
Professor Ravinder Dahiya, Professor of Electronics and Nanoengineering at the University of Glasgow’s School of Engineering, who led this research said: “This is the latest development in a string of successes we’ve had in creating flexible, graphene based devices which are capable of powering themselves from sunlight.
“Our previous generation of flexible e-skin needed around 20 nanowatts per square centimetre for its operation, which is so low that we were getting surplus energy even with the lowest-quality photovoltaic cells on the market.
“We were keen to see what we could do to capture that extra energy and store it for use at a later time, but we weren’t satisfied with current types of energy storages devices such as batteries to do the job, as they are often heavy, non-flexible, prone to getting hot, and slow to charge.
“Our new flexible supercapacitor, which is made from inexpensive materials, takes us some distance towards our ultimate goal of creating entirely self-sufficient flexible, solar-powered devices which can store the power they generate.
“There’s huge potential for devices such as prosthetics, wearable health monitors, and electric vehicles which incorporate this technology, and we’re keen to continue refining and improving the breakthroughs we’ve made already in this field.”
Learn more: SOLAR-POWERED SUPERCAPACITORS COULD CREATE FLEXIBLE, WEARABLE ELECTRONICS
The Latest on: Solar-powered supercapacitors
[google_news title=”” keyword=”solar-powered supercapacitors” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Solar-powered supercapacitors
- Cornell Dubilier brand of Knowles 3-cell supercapacitors operate at up to 9 W V DCon March 28, 2024 at 5:41 am
As a franchise distributor for Knowles’ Cornell Dubilier, New Yorker Electronics supplies the full line of aluminum electrolytic capacitors, AC oil filled capacitors, DC oil filled capacitors, film ...
- Walmart funds almost 1 gigawatt in new U.S. solar poweron March 28, 2024 at 1:47 am
Walmart is funding almost two dozen new community solar projects and three long-term purchase agreements that will add almost 1 gigawatt of zero-carbon energy to the U.S. grid. That’s roughly enough ...
- Could Concentrated Solar Power Be an Energy Storage Gamechanger?on March 27, 2024 at 3:28 am
Vast Energy CEO Craig Wood shares insight on concentrated solar power and its role in energy storage and green fuels.
- Best Solar-Powered Home Security Cameras for 2024on March 19, 2024 at 8:00 pm
Solar-powered security cameras allow you to avoid tricky wiring and dead batteries while still delivering on all the other specs like their nonsolar counterparts. What is the best overall solar ...
- The April 8 solar eclipse could impact power. Here's why.on March 18, 2024 at 7:50 am
The upcoming solar eclipse on April 8 will darken the sky for millions as the moon passes in front of the sun – but the spectacle could also affect how much solar power gets generated.
- Harnyss from the U.S. introduces tech to harness the power of hydrogen to produce electricityon March 17, 2024 at 7:32 pm
The future in energy generation is coming to the Philippines. A new technology developed by Harnyss, a company from the United States, has recently been introduced to local media through a briefing ...
- What if a car frame, boat hull, or phone case could store energyon December 20, 2023 at 8:56 am
Much like batteries, supercapacitors are energy-storing devices with two ... As a demonstration, the team built a mini solar-powered boat with the supercapacitor. They molded the supercapacitor to ...
- Energy-storing concrete could form foundations for solar-powered homeson July 31, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Connecting three of these supercapacitors produced the equivalent ... that it could provide energy storage for a solar-powered home for more than 27 years. One engineering complication is that ...
- The Best Off-Grid Solar Systems of 2024on May 5, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Aniket Bhor is a solar engineer who has spent nearly a decade studying and working in the solar power sector in the European, Asian and North American markets. He is a climate enthusiast and avid ...
- Wireless Weather Station Gets Solar-Powered Supercap Upgradeon April 7, 2022 at 6:59 am
The heart of the new power system is a pair of supercapacitors totalling 250 ... The caps are charged by a 12 V solar panel; this means that quite a bit of power is dissipated in the protection ...
via Bing News