Finding materials for flexible, cheap and better energy storage

Iron nitride - a magnetic material that meets the needs of flexible energy storage devices but is smaller, lighter and more durable than before.

A team at the Sandia National Laboratory Center, USA, has developed a magnetic material to create small, light, low-cost, high-frequency transformers that are more efficient than previous materials. here. The new mobile storage and energy conversion system that fits in a pickup truck can be used for solar, wind and geothermal energy installations even in the most remote areas. . These modules can be installed quickly, taking very little time and money.

"This modular system can be deployed quickly to multiple locations but saves time and assembly steps , " Todd Monson of the Nanoscale Science Department and Stan Atcitty co-researcher in the Public Room. Technology and Energy Storage System, Sandia Experimental Center said.

Testing of iron nitride in Sandia laboratory.(Photo: Randy Montoya).

Scientists at Sandia made iron nitride (γγ-Fe4N) powder with crushed iron powder in liquid nitrogen and then ammonia. This iron powder is then mounted by supporting field sintering technique (FAST) to form a solid material from liquid powder through heat and occasionally application of pressure. The FAST technique allows the creation of transformer cores from the original raw material in just a few minutes without decomposing essential nitride iron, as can occur at high temperatures during conventional sintering. This method can help make transformers 10 times smaller than today.

No machining required

The FAST technique allows for direct sintering of nitride iron into perfect parts, such as sintering the transformer core without machining. Due to magnetism, the iron nitride transformers will be compact, lighter than traditional transformers but still have great performance. Therefore, iron nitride can become a raw material to make a higher-efficiency, high-power transformer core for the national grid.

To date, scientists at Sandia have demonstrated the process of making transformer cores from iron nitride with good physical properties, magnetic fields and are preparing to test transformers in energy conversion experiments. Magnetic materials are very important for new generation energy conversion systems because they need high-frequency link-exchange machines, and this also reinforces Sandia Center's efforts in creating Equipment materials have super-wide bandgap characteristics for upgraded power systems. These materials can withstand higher frequencies, higher temperatures, and ultimately meet denser energy density designs. The research team applied for a patent for this new material.

Monson, Atcitty and the team built the idea of ​​this magnetic and electric material with the close cooperation of researchers from many other units such as the University of California, Irvine and Arizona State University, homes This science has helped outsourcing materials and hierarchy modeling.