University of Arkansas researchers have shown that the motion of graphene could supply an unlimited amount of clean energy. (Image credit: Pixabay)
Graphene advancements are rolling out on a regular basis, with new developments in production, strength, and have even used it to create 3D printed objects. Researchers from the University of Arkansas have also utilized the material to create a source of potential unlimited clean energy, thanks to its flexibility.
Professor Paul Thibado and his team have demonstrated that the motion from 2D materials could be harnessed to produce energy after observing the movement of graphene mounted on a copper grid (using a scanning tunneling microscope or STM), which acted as a scaffold of sorts, allowing the material to move freely.
The researchers noted that the graphene has a ‘rippling effect’ when in a freestanding form, with each flipping up and down when under ambient temperatures. Each movement inverts the graphene’s curvature, thereby creating a certain amount of energy. Professor Thibado used those findings to design what he calls a Vibrational Energy Harvester- a machine that harnesses the power of fluctuated graphene and transforms it into electricity.
The Vibrational Energy Harvester uses a negatively charged sheet of graphene suspended between two metal electrodes to produce electricity. (Image credit: University of Arkansas)
The Vibrational Energy Harvester uses a negatively charged sheet of graphene (roughly 10-microns across) that’s suspended between a pair of metal electrodes. When the ripple flips up, it produces a positive charge, and when it flips down, it creates another positive charge, generating an alternating current.
Each graphene ripple measures-out at 10 X 10-nanometers square, small enough that 20,000 of them could fit on a pinhead, yet each has the potential to produce as much as 10-picowatts of power, or enough energy to power a wristwatch. As an added bonus, since they draw energy from ambient heat, that watch will never need to be recharged.
If the Vibrational Energy Harvester can scale to size, we could create decentralized power systems all over the globe, especially in 3rd world countries and remote locations where power is nonexistent. There’s also potential in powering implanted medical devices, creating energy efficient solar and wind power, as well as powering remote IoT devices.
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