Experts from Germany and elsewhere are harnessing the friction of water flow on the nanoscale level with electrifying results that could power sensors and other technology without a battery.
Innovation from the Hamburg University of Technology and other institutions from across Europe relies on pressure and friction, according to a news release.
“The technology paves the way for autonomous and maintenance-free sensor systems – for example in water detection, sports and health monitoring in smart clothes, or haptic robotics, where touch or movement directly generates an electrical signal,” said Hamburg researcher Manuel Brinker.
The innovation generates power by forcing water into the silicon’s tiny pores, causing friction as it flows in and out, called triboelectrification. The experts cited vehicle shocks as an example of an environment where the invention could be incorporated, taking advantage of the mechanical pressure in the wheel well, according to the release.
“A crucial step was the development of precisely engineered silicon structures that are simultaneously conductive, nanoporous and hydrophobic,” Brinker said in the statement. “This architecture allows us to control the movement of water inside the pores – making the energy conversion process both stable and scalable.”
The power derived from friction is similar to how electricity is made when you walk on certain carpets while wearing shoes. The person carries the charge until it touches someone else or other objects.
The Hamburg device captures the frictional energy created when the liquid rubs against a solid, achieving a conversion rate of 9%, which is the highest recorded for these types of generators, all according to the release.
“The combination of nanoporous silicon with water allows an efficient and reproducible energy source – without exotic materials, but simply by using the most abundant semiconductor on Earth, silicon, and the most abundant liquid, water,” said Luis Bartolomé, from CIC energiGUNE in Spain.
Other experts are taking advantage of routine movement and small movements, too. Students in France created turnstiles that generated enough electricity to power the screens in a subway station. An international group of experts has developed a way to exploit the energy made when the wind slowly moves over water droplets.
It’s all part of the shift to cleaner energy, starting at the nanoscale level, to transform how we power lights, sensors, screens and gadgets. In everyday life, improvements like rooftop solar let you bring the revolution to your own home and reap the benefits of cheaper bills and more reliable energy.
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All renewable energy, even when made in silicon pores, is generated without heat-trapping air pollution. NASA has linked the planet-warming fumes to increased risks for extreme heat waves that could make some places uninhabitable. Extreme weather is contributing to the spread of disease, according to Trinity College Dublin.
The water friction innovators see their effort as the vanguard for a new kind of energy-making technology.
“Water-driven materials mark the beginning of a new generation of self-sustaining technologies,” the experts said in the release.
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