Researchers come up with technology that uses oxygen in the air to charge batteries – The Tribune-OxBig News Network

A novel ‘air-chargeable’ battery that traps the oxygen from the environment to drive the charging process for energy storage has been developed by Indian scientists towards a sustainable, eco-friendly power solution.

Researchers from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CNSMS) explored the “air-assisted self-charging” concept of aqueous zinc-ion batteries, aiming to utilise oxygen from the air to replenish the charge of the battery.

They have developed a photo-assisted self-chargeable energy storage device that enhances the charge storage capacity in the presence of light. It can charge on its own in the presence of oxygen from the atmosphere, according to information shared by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

In a world racing toward renewable energy solutions, a photo-assisted battery offers great promise as they combine the best of two worlds – the light-capturing capability of solar cells and the robust energy storage of conventional batteries.

Generally, solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, but they rely on separate battery systems to store the energy for later use. In contrast, photo-assisted batteries merge these functions into a single device, creating a seamless synergy between solar energy conversion and storage.

Photo-assisted batteries enhance the capacity of the batteries in the presence of light. However, it needs an external power supply to charge the battery. To overcome this limitation, energy storage devices with self-rechargeability are required.

“The ever-growing demand for portable electronic devices in various applications emphasises the necessity for continuous power sources, particularly in situations where recharging is not readily available. These discoveries pave the way for the advancement of self-rechargeable photo-assisted energy storage devices for real-world usage,” the researchers have stated in their study, which has been brought out in the Chemical Engineering Journal, an international peer-reviewed publication tracking developments in chemical engineering.

The researchers used Vanadium and Tungsten compounds to design a photoelectrode for air-photo-assisted self-charged energy storage. “Notably, this study marks the first instance of employing Tungsten Trioxide as an active material,” the researchers said.

The device showed a significant increment in the charge storage capacity by about 170 per cent, demonstrating the superiority of photo-assisted self-charged energy storage performance.

The findings by CNSMS pave the way for integrating these devices into self-reliable electronics, potentially powered by renewable energy sources, marking a major step forward in the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions and demonstrating the practical utility of energy storage devices in modern technology, the Ministry said.