Static electricity can be stored in batterystoring static electricity

What we do know is that when two different objects come into contact repeatedly, the friction creates static electricity. What we don't know is to explain the mechanisms for generating static electricity.



It produces voltages of tens of thousands of volts, in some cases reaching the power of lightning, although there is no electric current flowing. So, we are still looking for a theory to explain static electricity.



Donghyeon Yoo and his colleagues at Pohang University in South Korea were less interested in theories.



For them, the question that matters is: is it possible to collect static electricity and store it for future use?



And the Korean team gave an affirmative answer to that question by creating a method for converting static electricity into continuous usable power.

Continuous operation

Most nanogenerators, including water-powered models, are triboelectric generators, which means that they capture static electricity and make it available for use. The problem is that, for that, they need an auxiliary supply that provides the flow of energy - the flowing current.



What the Korean team has done now is, in addition to creating new technology to increase the total amount of energy generated by a triboelectric nanogenerator, to design and build an integrated circuit that makes this energy available in the form of usable electricity.



In practice, the nanogenerator is able to provide electricity even when friction ceases, and without depending on an auxiliary source.



Static electricity is converted directly into useful power

Scheme of the nanogenerator plus chip that provides static electricity for immediate use or storage.

Efficiency

The conversion efficiency of the prototypes reached more than 70%. With the new integrated circuit, the system provided stable power of 1.8V and 2.5 microwatts even with an irregular and intermittent supply coming from the nanogenerator. This amount of energy was sufficient to operate temperature and humidity sensors and even a calculator.



"Conventional triboelectric nanogenerators have faced challenges in obtaining reliable electrical power because they use an auxiliary power source to operate commercial integrated circuits or to operate independently. However, our findings can overcome these limitations by converting static electricity to electrical power. reliable, which can be used instantly, "said Professor Dong Sung Kim.