Wires as batteries to transform electronics to even smaller gadgets
Smaller gizmos, lighter planes and clothes that charge cell phones may now be possible
A breakthrough in the way energy is stored could lead to smaller electronics, more luggage space in a hybrid car and eventually clothing that can recharge a cellphone, according to researchers at the University of Central Florida.
Nanotechnology scientist Jayan Thomas said in an interview he believes he has discovered a way to store 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," Thomas said. "It has applications everywhere."
The work will be the cover story in the June 30 issue of the material science journal Advanced Materials, and is the subject of an article in the current edition of magazine Nature. Thomas's PhD student Zenan Yu is co-author.
Thomas said the process was relatively simple. First, he said, he heated the copper wire to create what he described as fuzzy "nano-whiskers", which are naturally insulated by copper oxide. The microscopic nano-whiskers vastly expand the wire's surface area that can store energy.
A second, plastic-covered layer of nano-whiskers creates a second electrode, similar to the positive and negative sides of a standard battery, Thomas said.