Plants can be turned into energy-containing devices

A transformation based on the discovery of scientists at the University of Oregon (USA) shows that it can turn trees into high-tech devices that contain energy.

Chemists at the University of Oregon discovered that, if heated in an incinerator along with ammonia, cellulose, the most abundant organic compound on Earth and an important component of plants, would become building blocks for supercapacitors.

Super capacitor is a special type of energy storage device , very large capacity and can charge much faster than batteries. They are used in all types of devices that require fast energy storage with large capacity, and have strong power generation capability. But the widespread use of this type of device is largely due to the cost and difficulty in producing high-quality carbon electrodes.

Chemists at the University of Oregon have created a new approach that can quickly produce nitrogen-based nanofilm carbon films as low-cost supercapacitor electrodes in a friendly process. environment. Its only byproducts are methane, which can be used immediately as fuel or for other purposes.

Chemistry professor Xiulei (David) Ji at the University of Oregon, the lead author of the study, commented, this is the first time it has been possible to detect cellulose to react with ammonia to create nano-carbon films. Nitrogen phase foam. According to him, it is surprising that such a basic reaction was not detected earlier.

This finding will open up a whole new field of science, studying degassers to activate carbon , which can turn cheap logs into a valuable high-tech product.

These nano-level carbon films are extremely thin (one gram can have a surface area of ​​nearly 2,000 square meters), which is a useful feature used in supercapacitors. Meanwhile, this new method of manufacturing process is just a one-step, quick and cheap reaction, starting with something simple as cellulose filter paper, in principle similar to paper. Filter once in a coffee machine. When exposed to high temperatures and ammonia, cellulose will convert into a nano-carbon carbon material , suitable for super capacitor production.

Supercapacitors are a type of energy storage device, but it can charge much faster than batteries and has a much larger capacity. They are used in all types of devices that require fast energy storage with large capacity, and strong power generation.

Today, supercapacitors are widely used, in many areas, from computers to consumer electronics, such as flash in digital cameras, from cars to aviation equipment, and at the same time. can supply energy to all machines from cranes to forklifts, from defibrillators to hybrid cars .

In addition, supercapacitors can also obtain energy that, if not, can be wasted, such as energy in braking performance. Super capacitor's energy storage capacity can help "regulate" electric current from alternative energy systems, such as wind power.

In addition to supercapacitors, porous carbon nanomaterials are also used in adsorption of polluted gases, environmental filters, water treatment and many other applications.