Energy Harvesting Device

The end result of the virus is the creation of these long, tube-like BTO nanocrystals that can produce electricity from movement. A paper on these flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators was published in the December issue of Advanced Energy Materials.
The end result of the virus is the creation of these long, tube-like BTO nanocrystals that can produce electricity from movement. A paper on these flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators was published in the December issue of Advanced Energy Materials.

 

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on December 10 that a research team led by Professor Lee Keon-jae and Nam Yoon-sung from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST has successfully developed a new piezoelectric nanogenerator using man-made viruses. A nanogenerator can convert mechanical energy into electricity. 

The flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator was created by modifying an M13 viral gene that is harmless to humans and widely exists in nature, and then synthesizing a highly piezoelectric inorganic material, barium titanate (BaTiO3, or BTO).

The team explained that the newly-developed energy harvesting device will be able to produce electrical energy and drive commercial LCD screens and LED bulbs by finger movement. 

Professor Nam said, “The new nanogenerator is significant in that it is possible to control the piezoelectric material with DNA manipulation, going beyond the genetic modification of living organisms.”

This study was published online in the November issue of ACS Nano and the December issue of Advanced Energy Materials.

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