An international team of scientists, including two researchers now working in Advanced Sensor Technology Center Twisted carbon nanotubes can store three times more energy per unit mass than advanced lithium-ion batteries, a study by the Center for Advanced Technology Research (CAST) at the University of Maryland Baltimore has shown. The discovery could advance carbon nanotubes as a promising energy storage solution for devices that need to be lightweight, compact and safe, such as medical implants and sensors. It was published. This article was recently published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Sanjeev Kumar UjjainDr. Yankees Yankees, of CAST, was the principal investigator on this work. He began the project while he was at Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan, and continued after he arrived at UMBC in 2022. Preeti AhujaHe also contributed, from the CAST Center, to the material characterization aspects of the research.
Researchers have studied single-walled carbon nanotubes, which are like straws made of pure carbon sheets just one atom thick. Carbon nanotubes are lightweight, relatively easy to manufacture, and about 100 times stronger than steel. Their incredible properties have led scientists to explore their potential use in a wide range of futuristic-looking technologies, including Space elevators.
To test the energy storage potential of carbon nanotubes, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County researchers and their colleagues created carbon nanotube “ropes” from bundles of commercially available nanotubes. After pulling the tubes and twisting them into a single strand, the researchers then coated them with different materials intended to increase the ropes’ strength and flexibility.
The team tested how much energy the ropes could store by twisting them and measuring the energy released as they unwound. They found that the best-performing ropes could store 15,000 times more energy per unit mass than steel springs, and about three times more energy than lithium-ion batteries. The stored energy remained stable and accessible at temperatures ranging from -76 to +212 degrees Fahrenheit (-60 to +100 degrees Celsius). The materials in the carbon nanotube ropes are also safer for the human body than those used in batteries.
“Humans have long been accustomed to storing energy in mechanical coil springs to power devices such as watches and toys,” says Kumar Ujjain. “This research shows that twisted carbon nanotubes have great potential for storing mechanical energy, and we are excited to share this news with the world.” The CAST team is already working on integrating twisted carbon nanotubes as a power source in a prototype sensor they are developing, he says.
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