The internet of things (IoT), or the connection of devices to the internet, has in recent years been a successful disruptive technology that generated countless new business opportunities and penetrated almost every iota of our daily lives. From connected home hubs and smart thermostats, to the plethora of app-controlled devices and wearables, chances are, IoT has transformed your life, in one way or another.
This increase in connectivity will only continue to skyrocket in the years to come – the worldwide usage of IoT devices is projected to triple in numbers by 2030 (compared to 2019 statistics). But can the energy storage and supply ecosystem underpinning IoT devices keep up with their explosive growth?
Recent research performed by Curtin University researchers has led to a simple and cost-effective way to distinguish the materials that are well-suited for energy storage and supply from those that aren’t. This could be critical as we wholly embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution where our reliance on battery-run devices and IoT technologies increases by the day.
Simple yet useful technique.
In their paper, the Curtin research team, led by Associate Professor Simone Ciampi from Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Science, described an experimental method to produce and retain the highest energy charge in a capacitor.
While typical rechargeable batteries store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy in electrolytes, capacitors store electrical energy in the form of electrical charges accumulated on their plates. This means capacitors can be charged nearly instantaneously as they store energy by separating charged ions, such as those found in ionic liquids – a type of “liquid salt”.
But the flavours of ionic liquids out there are just too many for one to handle. So it is challenging to pick the most suitable ones for use in a capacitor. Dr Ciampi’s team devised an ingenious technique that can ascertain the charge-storing ability of a given ionic liquid (a simple capacitor) by simply putting it in contact with a device commonplace in most labs. The method can also test the stability of the capacitor when it’s charged.
The ubiquitous device in question is the potentiostat – an analytical instrument used to measure potentials and currents in electrochemical circuits. Using this method, the Curtin research team tested the energy storage potential of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid and found that charging it for 60 seconds produced a full charge, which did not “leak” in electricity for at least four days.
A piece of the energy storage puzzle.
Apart from the simplicity of this testing method, the study also resulted in a model that is capable of predicting potential ionic liquid candidates that could be charged rapidly without losing much energy over a long period.
Moving forward, the research team plans to put this new screening method into practice. The goal is to search for more ionic liquid/electrode combinations that could not only store more energy but also last longer when they’re charged – a key to powering IoT devices of the future sustainably.
