Produces power transmission cables and energy storage

Recently, two researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have found a way to use nanotechnology to create wires with gigantic capacitances. Their ultimate goal was to create a wire that could both transmit and store energy as a battery.

Professor Jayan Thomas, and research doctoral student Yu Zenan technical use "culture" of copper oxide nanowires in a laboratory to design a special type of wire above. These fibers can provide conduction links between the inner and outer layers of the super-capacitive wire.

Initially, the team developed a layer of nanofibres from the isolated copper oxide on the outermost layer of a copper wire. Subsequently, the nanofibers were treated with palladium-gold alloy and finally, an electrochemical manganese oxide coating was deposited on the alloy. As a result, the nanofibers will act as a shell around the copper wire and form the first electrode.

To supplement the second electrode to provide energy storage capacity, the team coated the first electrode with a solid electrolyte and a polymer separator, then fitted another cylindrical electrode circled around it. The second electrode is formed in the same way as the first electrode, but the nanofibres are attached to a copper foil to act as a conductor around the outer layer.

The practical application of super capacitance wires is to help energy storage devices and systems become more flexible, wearable and can be integrated directly into clothing as well as textiles. Superhuman flex cable can also be used for electronic devices and make them smaller and more portable by significantly reducing the size of the battery or integrating the power cord into the device. is intended to replace the battery.

Although still in need of improvement, the team's nanotechnology "culture" technique can be applied on a variety of materials, not just copper. The team believes that as technology improves, other types of fibers and cables can be developed with the same nanostructures in order to transmit and store energy.