The photo is sourced from kistler.com
The results of their study are published in Low Power Electronics and Applications journal issued by Multi-profile Digital Publications Institute (MDPI).
Carbon nanotubes represent a cylinder structure up to several dozen nanometres in diameter and up to several centimetres long made of rolled graphene flat surfaces. Today, the nanotubes studies undergo a new boom thanks to using the so-called “imperfect” nanotubes with added (alloyed) hetero-atoms of nitrogen, oxygen and boron (hetero-atom is any atom of a compound, which is not a carbon or hydrogen atom). The scientists are already studying the possibility of using such tuber to transform energy in electro-chemical capacitors, fuel elements and lithium-ion batteries.
Another interesting sphere is represented by piezoelectric nanogenerators capable of accumulating energy from vibrations in physical media. “The idea of developing nanogenerators based on transforming the mechanical energy of the environment into electricity using the piezoelectric effect in nanoscale structures was conceived in 2006. Since then, we have been looking for the right material to implement it. Classic piezoceramic structures do not fit because they are very brittle and usually toxic due to containing lead, and piezoelectric semiconducting nano structures (zinc oxide, gallium nitride) do not have sufficient value of the piezoelectric module for efficient energy transformation, Marina Ilyina, candidate of engineering, is cited by SFedU.
Scientists from the Institute of nanotechnology, electronics and instrumentation engineering with SFedU conducted a series of experiments showing that alloying nanotube with nitrogen results in increasing the piezoelectric module, i.e., the ratio of the received electric current to the applied pressure. Another result was identification of the dependency of the piezoelectric parameters of the nitrogen-alloyed carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) on the ratio between their length and diameter. The 30-fold ratio was confirmed as the optimal, allowing for assuring high piezoelectric effect while maintaining high sensitivity of N-CNT to external mechanical impact.
“The results of this research demonstrate that nitrogen-alloyed carbon nanotubes are perfect candidates for developing high-performing nanogenerators thanks to a combination of high mechanical and piezoelectric properties”, Marina Ilyina, the project leader, is cited by SFedU.
