Tiny generator uses the motion of molecules to produce electricity
Generating electricity from the movements of molecules in a fluid could one day power devices like tiny medical implants or household appliances
By Chen Ly
17 October 2023
Electricity can be generated by using nanoscale fibres that respond to the movement of molecules in fluid
Martin Capek/Alamy
A miniature generator can convert the movements of molecules in room temperature liquid into electricity. The device could one day be used to power devices like medical implants or even small household appliances.
Molecules are constantly moving, thanks to the thermal energy they possess at temperatures above absolute zero, even if they appear still to the human eye. For example, at room temperature, the atoms in a glass of water are always jostling around.
“We thought it would be interesting and meaningful to see if this motion can be harvested and converted into electricity,” says Wei Li at Nankai University in China.
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Yucheng Luan at start-up firm East Eight Energy in China, Li and their colleagues created an energy-harvesting device just 1-centimetre square, which consists of a top and bottom electrode with several 25-nanometre-wide strands of zinc oxide attached to each. The material was chosen for its ability to generate electrical charge under mechanical deformation.
Nanothreads attached to electrodes generate a small electric current as they are buffeted by moving molecules in this diagram of a molecular thermal motion harvester Yucheng Luan and Wei Li
