| Scientists have built the world’s thinnest electric generator - and it’s only one atom wide |
| FIONA MACDONALD |
| MONDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2014 |
| Image: Rob Felt, Georgia Institute of Technology
Researchers have created a graphene-like material that generates electricity every time its stretched, and could power the wearable technology of the future.
Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Columbia Engineering in the US have shown they can generate electricity from a layer of material that’s just one atom thick. The generator is made from molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), which is a clear, flexible and extremely light material that opens up huge possibilities for the future of electricity generation.
The new electrical generator is an example of piezoelectricity, or electricity that’s generated from pressure. Piezoelectric materials have huge potential to be used to create materials that can charge devices, such as footwear that powers an iPod. But until now, scientists have struggled to make these materials thin and flexible enough to be practical.
However, it’s been predicted that a substance capable of forming single-atom-thick molecules, or two-dimensional layers, would be highly piezoelectric.
Now the scientists have proved that this is the case for the first time ever. Their results have been published in Nature.
“This material – just a single layer of atoms – could be made as a wearable device, perhaps integrated into clothing, to convert energy from your body movement to electricity and power wearable sensors or medical devices, or perhaps supply enough energy to charge your cell phone in your pocket,” said James Hone, professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia engineering and co-leader of the research.
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