Twisted carbon nanotubes could achieve significantly better energy storage than advanced lithium-ion batteries

An international team of scientists, including two researchers currently at UMBC’s Center for Advanced Sensor Technologies (CAST), has found that twisted carbon nanotubes can store three times more energy per unit mass than advanced lithium-ion batteries. The discovery could advance carbon nanotubes as a promising solution for storing energy in devices that must be light, compact and safe, such as medical implants and sensors. Now published Recently published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Sanjeev Kumar Ujjain of CAST was the principal investigator on the study, who began the project while at Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture and continued it after arriving at UMBC in 2022. Priti Ahuja of CAST also contributed to the materials characterization aspects of the study.

The researchers Single-walled carbon nanotubesare like drinking straws made from sheets of pure carbon just one atom thick. Carbon nanotubes are lightweight, relatively easy to manufacture, and about 100 times stronger than steel. Their incredible properties have scientists exploring their potential uses in a wide range of futuristic technologies. Space elevator.

To explore the energy storage capabilities of carbon nanotubes, UMBC researchers carbon nanotube After creating “ropes” from bundles of commercially available nanotubes by stretching and twisting the tubes into a single strand, the researchers coated the ropes with various substances to make them stronger and more flexible.

The team tested how much energy the ropes could store by twisting them and measuring the energy released when they unwound. They found that the best ropes could store 15,000 times more energy per unit mass than a steel spring and about three times as much energy as a lithium-ion battery.

The stored energy remains constant and accessible over a temperature range of -76 to +212 °F (-60 to +100 °C), and the carbon nanotube rope material is safer for the human body than materials used in batteries.

“Humans have long stored energy in coil springs in machines, Power Supplies “This could be used in a variety of applications, including watches and toys,” says Kumar Ujjain. “This research shows that twisted carbon nanotubes have great potential for mechanical energy storage, and we are happy to share this news with the world.”

The CAST team is already working on incorporating twisted carbon nanotubes as an energy source for prototype sensors they are developing, he says.