Electronic devices never run out of energy with super batteries

This technology is designed to be extremely flexible and can be attached directly to solar cells.

Inspired by the plant world, researchers have devised a new electrode that can push the solar energy reserve to a staggering 3,000%.

So far, the use of solar energy has always had a problem in storing them for long-term use without leakage over time.

In order to solve the problem, engineers switched to supercapacitors - a technology that can charge extremely fast and release energy in big explosions. But so far, supercapacitors that do not exploit energy are as efficient as solar cells and storage capacity is limited.

A group of scientists from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, decided to conduct intensive research to understand the ability of energy management in small organisms to help change the productivity of supercapacitors. . And finally a local leaf, a subspecies of North American plant group - Western Fern (Polystichum munitum) gives the desired results.

Nano engineer Min Gu, in the research group, shared: "The leaves of this fern plant are dense with veins and fractal structures, similar to snow crystals making them extremely effective in storing energy and transporting water to the body, and we used this effective natural design to improve the ability to store nano-level solar energy into a new type of electrode " .

In the picture below, the surface of the fern leaf enlarged to 400 times clearly shows the self-replicating structure that the scientists applied to the design later.

To create the desired electrode, scientists use lasers to create graphene, a flexible carbon nanomaterial that can conduct electricity at an impressive speed. Then, applying a fractal form design on graphene resistors and combining with modern supercapacitors, Gu and colleagues finally achieved 30 times the energy reserve.

If this resistor is successfully built, these supercapacitors will be combined with new solar cells that allow 3,000% more energy reserves than they are today.

" Productivity-enhanced supercapacitors will ensure durability and fast energy release ," Gu added.

Gu believes that these new generation supercapacitors are an ideal alternative to solar storage, regardless of whether it is hot or gloomy.

The electrodes were born based on fern leaf structure.

The birth of the first electrode block, based on this fractal structure, made scientists extremely optimistic about the potential applications of this new technology.

Researcher Litty Thekkekara, a doctoral student at RMIT University, said: " The most interesting possibility of this study is to use this electrode with solar cells to provide energy extraction and storage solutions. on chip ".

Although this can be done with popular solar cells, often used on rooftops, Thekkekara thinks it will be useful to integrate new electrodes with thin-film solar cells, next generation. Follow of flexible optoelectronic which can be used almost anywhere.

This technology is designed to be extremely flexible and can be attached directly to solar cells.

Scientists who expect this invention will bring a future for smartphones or laptops or electronic devices capable of self-loading and using solar energy that never run out, Anytime, anywhere.