Scientists have shown once again that clean electricity can come from more than fossil fuels. Nature offers a variety of ways to generate power with remarkably low emissions, and some methods can tap into atmospheric electricity under the right conditions. In a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, engineers demonstrated a path to harvest ambient electric currents present in the air using a material inspired by living systems.
In a report published in Advanced Materials, researchers indicate that nearly any material can be turned into a device that continuously uses electricity drawn from moisture in the air. The breakthrough centers on coating a device made of almost any substrate with nanopores smaller than 100 nanometers in diameter, a size that is far thinner than a human hair. The result is a platform capable of capturing electrical energy from the surrounding environment over extended periods.
“Air holds a vast amount of electricity,” noted a professor at the UMass Amherst School of Engineering who led the study. “Picture a cloud as a mass of water droplets, each carrying a charge, and when conditions align, a cloud can produce lightning. We did not manage to capture lightning reliably, but we did create a small, man made cloud that reliably generates electricity for continuous capture.”
protein nanowires
The core of the artificial cloud is based on the generic Air-gen effect, a line of research pursued by the team starting in 2020. This approach uses a material built from protein nanowires produced by bacteria that involve Geobacter species. The researchers showed that electricity can be drawn continuously from the air using a structure that features extremely small pores. The crucial feature is a pore size under 100 nanometers, which enables effective interaction with airborne water molecules and their charges.
‘Middle freeway’
According to the UMass statement, the pores match the average free path length of water molecules in air, the distance a molecule travels before colliding with another. By constructing a device with pores this tiny, the natural electric charges carried by water molecules can be captured as they pass through the thin material layer.
The mechanism, sometimes described as an air generator or Air-gen, relies on the high collision rate of water molecules with the pore edges. This interaction creates a load imbalance that drives a steady flow of electrical charge, similar to how a cloud produces lightning but in a controlled, steady fashion for energy capture.
A 24-hour power station
The appeal of this capture system lies in its ability to function around the clock, rain or shine, day and night, even without wind, thanks to persistent humidity. This durability addresses a major limitation of technologies that require sun or wind to operate. While the team is currently focused on generating small amounts of power suitable for portable devices, the broader potential for consumer technologies is exciting and wide-ranging. The main challenge is to explore how far this phenomenon can be scaled and applied.
“Imagine a future world where clean electricity is ubiquitous. The air gen effect hints that such a world could be within reach”, commented one engineer.
Reference work: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adma.202300748
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Source: Advanced Materials study, 2023 edition. (Citation: Wiley Online Library 2023)