Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a super-hydrophobic surface that can be used to generate electrical voltage.
When salt water flows over this specially patterned surface, it can produce at least 50 millivolts. The proof-of-concept work could lead to the development of new power sources for lab-on-a-chip platforms and other microfluidics devices. It could someday be extended to energy harvesting methods in water desalination plants, researchers said.
A team of researchers led by Prab Bandaru, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, and first author Bei Fan, a graduate student in Bandaru’s research group, published their work in the Oct. 3 issue of Nature Communications.
The main idea behind this work is to create electrical voltage by moving ions over a charged surface. And the faster you can move these ions, the more voltage you can generate, explained Bandaru.
Bandaru’s team created a surface so hydrophobic that it enables water (and any ions it carries) to flow faster when passing over. The surface also holds a negative charge, so a rapid flow of positive ions in salt water with respect to this negatively charged surface results in an electrical potential difference, creating an electrical voltage.
“The reduced friction from this surface as well as the consequent electrical interactions helps to obtain significantly enhanced electrical voltage,” said Bandaru.
The surface was made by etching tiny ridges into a silicon substrate and then filling the ridges with oil (such as synthetic motor oil used for lubrication). In tests, dilute salt water was transported by syringe pump over the surface in a microfluidic channel, and then the voltage was measured across the ends of the channel.
There have been previous reports on super-hydrophobic, or so-called “lotus leaf” surfaces designed to speed up fluid flow at the surface. However, these surfaces have so far been patterned with tiny air pockets—and since air does not hold charge, the result is a smaller electric potential difference and thus, a smaller voltage. By replacing air with a liquid like synthetic oil—which holds charge and won’t mix with salt water—Bandaru and Fan created a surface that produces at least 50 percent more electrical voltage than previous designs. According to Bandaru, higher voltages may also be obtained through faster liquid velocities and narrower and longer channels.
Moving forward, the team is working on creating channels with these patterned surfaces that can produce more electrical power.
Learn more: Flowing salt water over this super-hydrophobic surface can generate electricity
The Latest on: Electricity generation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”electricity generation” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Electricity generation
- Strategy to help reduce electricity generation cost by 15% by 2030on April 27, 2024 at 3:11 pm
It will reduce the Carbon intensity in Qatar’s annual CO2 intensity by 27 percent for each unit of electricity produced.In terms of economic advantage, it is expected to reduce the average cost of ...
- US’s power grid continues to lower emissions—everything else, not so muchon April 26, 2024 at 11:51 am
Separately, direct use of fossil fuels for things like furnaces, water heaters, etc., has been largely flat for the entire 30 years the EIA is looking at, although milder weather led to a slight ...
- Eskom Sees Reduced South African Power Cuts on Stable Generationon April 26, 2024 at 6:33 am
South Africa’s power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. forecast reduced blackouts for the country during upcoming winter months, when demand increases, due to improved electricity generation performance ...
- FPT Industrial expands its range of engines for power generationon April 26, 2024 at 5:23 am
FPT Industrial, the Iveco Group brand dedicated to the design, production and sale of low-environmental impact powertrains, is widening its already extensive engine line-up for power generation with ...
- New EPA rules subject Georgia Power to severe emissions restrictions at planned plantson April 26, 2024 at 4:37 am
Georgia Power will be required to capture 90% of carbon dioxide emissions at three new gas-fired plants under new federal guidelines..
- AI to Power the Next Generation of Robotson April 26, 2024 at 4:22 am
There's increasing buzz that the tech behind ChatGPT will make future industrial and humanoid robots far more capable.
- Fossil Fuels Hit All-Time Low in UK Electricity Generationon April 24, 2024 at 12:00 pm
The UK's generation of electricity from fossil fuels has reached an all-time low, with just 2.4% of electricity coming from fossil fuel sources on 2023-04-15.
- New Geothermal Technology Could Expand Clean Power Generationon April 24, 2024 at 6:00 am
Long confined to regions with volcanic activity, geothermal promises to become a much more versatile energy source thanks to new technologies ...
- Wind Overtakes Fossil Fuels as the UK’s Largest Power Generation Sourceon April 23, 2024 at 8:30 am
Wind generation hit a record-high share of 28.7% of generation in 2023, up from just 2.7% back in 2010. Generation from fossil fuels fell to a record low, a share of 36.3%, but generation from gas ...
via Bing News