2024-09-04 22:56:36
Solar panels generate electricity from sunlight, and wind turbines generate electricity from wind. However, since each type of device relies on a single source, it only works when that source is available.
For example, solar panels do not work at night, and wind turbines do not work if there is no wind. This has led some scientists to propose the development of technology that would allow energy to be captured from multiple renewable sources in a single device.
A team, including Guanbo Min of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems in China and Ravinder Dahiya of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, has begun exploring the feasibility of implementing such systems. So far, they have not combined solar and wind power, but rather wind and raindrop impact power.
The team built two different types of energy-harvesting devices: a triboelectric nanogenerator to harvest kinetic energy from the wind, and a droplet-powered generator to harvest energy from falling raindrops.
The triboelectric nanogenerator consists of a layer of nylon nanofibers sandwiched between layers of polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon™, and copper electrodes. When the layers are pressed together, static charges are generated which are converted into electricity.
The team also used Teflon to make the raindrop-powered generator, which was waterproofed and covered with a conductive fabric to act as electrodes. When raindrops hit one of the electrodes, a charge imbalance occurs, generating a small current and a high voltage.
Under optimal conditions, the triboelectric nanogenerator produced 252 volts and the droplet-powered generator 113 volts, but only for short periods of time.
The team mounted the droplet-powered generator on the triboelectric nanogenerator and attached leaf-shaped versions to an artificial plant. When the leaf-shaped generators were exposed to conditions mimicking natural wind and rain, they powered 10 LED lights with brief flashes. According to the researchers, although the tested device is very small, it is feasible to manufacture larger-scale versions.
Some of the leaves of this artificial plant, specifically the beige ones, are electric generators that obtain their energy from raindrops and wind.
By: NCYT of Amazings (Photo: adapted from ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering)