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INDEXwiredInUSA - July 2014
Copper wire batteries?
Reuters is reporting a possible breakthrough
in energy storage for applications as
diverse as smaller electronics, hybrid cars
and even clothing that could recharge a
cellphone.
Researchers at the University of Central
Florida, led by nanotechnology scientist
Jayan Thomas, have found a method of
storing energy in a thin sheath around an
ordinary lightweight copper electrical wire.
As a result, the same wire that transmits
electricity can also store extra energy.
“We can just convert those wires into
batteries, so there is no need of a
separate battery,” Mr Thomas said. “It has
applications everywhere.”
The work will be covered in the June issue
of the material science journal Advanced
Materials, and is the subject of an article
in the current edition of science magazine
Nature.
Mr Thomas said the process is relatively
simple. Copper wire is heated to create
‘nano-whiskers’, which are naturally
insulated by copper oxide. Themicroscopic
nano-whiskers vastly expand the wire’s
surface area. A second, plastic-covered,
layer of nano-whiskers creates a second
electrode, similar to the positive and
negative sides of a standard battery, he
explained.
The technique has the potential to lighten
airplanes and spacecraft, to store excess
energy from solar panels, and to further
miniaturize small electronics. There are
plans to apply the same technique to fibers
woven into clothing along with a flexible
solar cell, creating a wearable battery
pack.
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