Self-charging battery gets boost from nanocomposite film
Monday, February 24, 2014 - 12:22
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) —In 2012, a research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology led by Professor Zhong Lin Wang fabricated the first self-charging power pack, or battery, that can be charged without being plugged into a wall socket or other source of electricity. Instead, the battery is charged by applying a mechanical stress, which causes lithium ions to migrate from the cathode to the anode due to the piezoelectric effect. Now the researchers have improved the battery by adding nanoparticles to the battery's piezoelectric material, resulting in a higher charging efficiency and storage capacity.