From the Wood to an Environmentally Friendly Batteries

With tin coated on a piece of wood that could be a small battery that is efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly. But do not try to make yourself at home, because the battery components which is tested by a group of scientists at the University of Maryland is thousands of times thinner than a piece of paper. The researchers received support from the National Science Foundation and the University of Maryland NanoCenter.

Scientists using sodium as a substitute for lithium material which is widely used by the rechargeable battery today, but the new wood-made battery is more environmentally friendly. Sodium is not able to store energy as efficiently as lithium, so you will not see this battery in a cell phone, but the material is cheap and easy to get, making this battery suitable for storing large amounts of energy as well, such as electrical energy at an solar power plant.

Close-up image of wood fibers. "Wood fibers that make up a tree once held mineral-rich water, and so are ideal for storing liquid electrolytes, making them not only the base but an active part of the battery." (Picture from: http://cleantechnica.com/)

The currently battery generally using a rigid base meterial, too fragile to resist the shape changes as the bloated and the shrinking of the battery due to electron-stored or flowed from the battery.

Liangbing Hu, Teng Li, and a team of researchers from the University of Maryland found that the wood fiber is quite flexible so that the sodium ion batteries can hold more than 400 recharge cycles. This makes sodium ion batteries into the ranks of the most durable nano battery.

"The inspiration behind this idea comes from the tree," said Hu, an assistant professor of materials science. "The wood fiber is the tree material that once holds mineral-rich water, making it ideal for storing liquid electrolyte, Thus the wood fiber is not only a basic material, but also an active part of a battery."

 

Hongli Zhu and other team members found that after the battery is recharged hundreds of times, the wood will be wrinkled but still intact. From the computer modeling shows that the wrinkles is effective to relieve pressure in the battery during charging and recharging processes, so that the battery can last up to hundreds of times. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SCIENCEDAILY | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 4264]

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