A new semi-permanent battery could disrupt several industries

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A research team led by Professor Su-il In from the Department of Energy Science and Technology at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) has developed a next-generation semi-permanent battery that does not require recharging.

The fourth industrial revolution, represented by the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems and artificial intelligence (AI), is growing rapidly. This expansion highlights the importance of battery technologies as a power source for these platforms.

Current battery technologies have limitations, including the increasing cost of raw materials such as lithium and nickel, safety issues associated with manufacturing warmth and durability, as well as the limited performance of secondary batteries.

Growing interest in betavoltaic cells

Betavoltaic cells are attracting increasing interest as next-generation batteries. These devices generate energy when electrons from beta rays emitted by radioisotopes (such as carbon, nickel, and hydrogen) strike a semiconductor that acts as an absorber of the radiation.

Betavoltaic cells have several major advantages: they can independently generate energy without the need for external energy sources or replacement, and they have a semi-permanent lifetime thanks to the long half-life of radioisotopes. In addition, beta rays, which are the main source of energy for betavoltaic cells, are less dangerous for the human body than gamma rays and they are very stable.

Development of two-layer beta voltage cells

In this context, the research team led by Su-il In au DGIST conducted a study to develop betavoltaic cells that were cost competitive and efficient. Instead of using material expensive semiconductors as radiation absorbers, Lee’s team used the dye N719, which belongs to the ruthenium (Ru) group, the radioactive isotope citric acid-14 (14CA), and titanium dioxide (TiO2).

The team synthesized citric acid into isotope nanoparticles carbon to increase the energy density and add citric acid between the N719 dye and titanium dioxide to create a strong bond, thus achieving high energy conversion and stability.

working diagram of a beta voltage cell

Performance analysis of new cells

The efficiency of betavoltaic cells sensitized with two-site radioactive isotopes was analyzed by Lee’s team. The analysis confirmed that the cells generated 658,500 times more electrons than they emitted and could generate energy stably for 100 hours.

Compared with Cells betavoltaics developed by this team in 2020, the energy conversion efficiency of the new cells increased 6 times, and the stability 10 times.

Professor Su-il In from DGIST explained: “ This study is of particular importance because we were able to develop a new type of betavoltaic cell based on an inexpensive dye. We will conduct additional research on the design and mass production of nuclear batteries in order to commercialize this technology in the future. »

Article: “A multi-year battery based on a high-efficiency and stable beta-voltage cell sensitive to a double-layer radioactive isotope dye” – DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.234427

This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, and its results were published online in April in the Journal of Power Sources, one of the most prestigious international journals in the field of electrical and electronic engineering (first author: Dr. Hongsoo Kim, PhD student at Department of Energy Science and Technology and co-author: Sanghun Lee, undergraduate student in the College of Transdisciplinary Studies).

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