Lithium-ion batteries have allowed the rapid proliferation of all kinds of mobile devices such as phones, tablets and computers. These tools however require frequent re-charging because of the limited energy density of their batteries.
鈥淲ith smart phones now, you can basically carry your whole office in that device, they are loaded with all sorts of applications so you need a lot of power to use it everyday and sometimes, you don鈥檛 have access to a plug to recharge,鈥� explains Professor George P. Demopoulos, chair of Mining and Materials Engineering at 不良研究所.
This has led to the development of portable solar chargers but these hybrid devices are difficult to miniaturize due to their complex circuitry and packaging issues.
To solve this problem, scientists at 不良研究所 and the Hydro-Qu茅bec鈥檚 research institute are working on a single device capable of harvesting and storing energy using light. In other words, a self-charging battery.
Harnessing聽light as energy source
A novel concept presented in a Nature Communications paper by Demopoulos and researchers at Hydro-Qu茅bec paves the way to these so-called light-charged batteries.
The study shows that a standard cathode from a lithium-ion battery can be 鈥渟ensitized鈥� to light by incorporating photo-harvesting dye molecules. 鈥淚n other words,鈥� says Dr. Andrea Paolella, the study鈥檚 lead author and researcher at Hydro-Qu茅bec, 鈥渙ur research team was able to simulate a charging process using light as a source of energy.鈥�
Scientists will now have to build an anode, the storage component, which will close the device鈥檚 circuit, allowing energy produced by the cathode described in Nature Communications to be transferred and stored. If they succeed, they will have built the world鈥檚 first 100 per cent self-charging lithium-ion battery.
Potential for mobile devices
The research team is already working on phase two of this project, thanks to a $564,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
鈥淲e have done half of the job,鈥� says Demopoulos, co-senior author of the paper with Hydro-Qu茅bec鈥檚 Dr. Karim Zaghib, a leading expert on batteries. 鈥淲e know that we can design the electrode that absorbs light. 鈥淭his grant will give us the opportunity to bridge the gap and demonstrate that this new concept of a light-chargeable battery is possible.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 an optimist and I think we can get a fully working device,鈥� says Paolella, who is also a former post-doctoral student from 不良研究所. 鈥淭heoretically speaking, our goal is to develop a new hybrid solar-battery system, but depending on the power it can generate when we miniaturize it, we can imagine applications for portable devices such as phones.鈥�
鈥淗ydro-Qu茅bec has a strong global position with regard to the development of innovative, high-performance and safe battery materials,鈥� says Karim Zaghib Director 鈥� Energy Storage and Conservation at IREQ, Hydro-Qu茅bec鈥檚 research institute.
While it may take a few years to complete the second phase of the project, Demopoulos believes this 鈥減assive form of charging鈥� could play an important role in portable devices of the future.