China-developed photovoltaic nuclear battery could run for centuries: scientists
In-built energy converter works like a solar panel to capture alpha rays and convert them first into light and then electricity
According to a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, the researchers were looking for a way to harness alpha rays released by decaying radioactive isotopes, in a field where most advances have focused on beta radiation.
The increasing demand for clean energy solutions and small, long-lasting alternative power sources have sparked broad research interest in nuclear batteries but alpha-radioisotopes are considered the most likely contenders for a micronuclear battery.
This is because the high decay energy of alpha-radioisotopes – between four and six mega electron volts (MeV) – offers the potential to far outstrip beta-radioisotope devices, whose decay energies reach several tens of kiloelectron volts (keV) at best.
However, with their extremely short penetration in solids, alpha particles lose substantial energy through the self-absorption effect.
“This self-absorption significantly reduces the actual output power of tested alpha-radioisotope micronuclear batteries to levels far below theoretical expectations,” said the study’s lead author Wang Shuao from Soochow University.