Scientists and engineers from the University of Bristol and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery.
This new type of battery has the potential to power devices for thousands of years, making it an incredibly long-lasting energy source.
The battery leverages the radioactive isotope, carbon-14, known for its use in radiocarbon dating, to produce a diamond battery.
Several game-changing applications are possible. Bio-compatible diamond batteries can be used in medical devices like ocular implants, hearing aids, and pacemakers, minimising the need for replacements and distress to patients.
Diamond batteries could also be used in extreme environments – both in space and on earth – where it is not practical to replace conventional batteries. The batteries could power active radio frequency (RF) tags where there is a need to identify and track devices either on earth or in space, such as spacecraft or payloads, for decades at a time, thus reducing costs and extending operational lifespan.
Professor Tom Scott, Professor in Materials at the University of Bristol, said: “Our micropower technology can support a whole range of important applications from space technologies and security devices through to medical implants. We're excited to be able to explore all of these possibilities, working with partners in industry and research, over the next few years.”
The carbon-14 diamond battery works by using the radioactive decay of carbon-14, which has a half-life of 5,700 years, to generate low levels of power. It functions similarly to solar panels, which convert light into electricity, but instead of using light particles (photons), they capture fast-moving electrons from within the diamond structure.
“Diamond batteries offer a safe, sustainable way to provide continuous microwatt levels of power. They are an emerging technology that use a manufactured diamond to safely encase small amounts of carbon-14,” said Sarah Clark, Director of Tritium Fuel Cycle at UKAEA.
A team of scientists and engineers from both organisations worked together to build a plasma deposition rig, a specialised apparatus used for growing the diamond at UKAEA’s Culham Campus.
This development is the result, in part, of UKAEA’s work on fusion energy.
The expertise gained in fusion research is helping to accelerate innovation in related technologies.
University of Bristol
Researchers at the University of Córdoba have used vitamin B12, or cobalamin, as a catalyst in a zinc-air battery for the first time, anchoring the biomolecule to single-walled carbon nanotubes to keep it stable in an aqueous electrolyte. The cobalt at its core drives oxygen reduction on discharge and oxygen production on recharge, enabling up to 250 cycles.
A one-step liquid coating that converts into a 12-micrometer hybrid film on lithium metal could bring solid-state batteries closer to practical use. The polysiloxane and indium chloride layer forms lithium fluoride and lithium-indium alloy nanoparticles in situ, suppressing dendrite growth. Protected anodes reached 3.5 mA cm-2 critical current density and retained 82.3% capacity after 300 cycles in full cells with a sulfide electrolyte and NCM cathode, versus 43.0% for bare lithium.
Researchers at Jilin University and the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry have shown that hydroxyl functional groups on self-supporting carbon nanotube cathodes stabilize aqueous zinc-iodine batteries. Density functional theory guided the choice of surface groups, and the hydroxyl-modified cathode confined iodine species within its porous nanotube channels. It retained 89.34% of capacity after more than 10,000 cycles and suppressed the iodine shuttle effect.
This week in nanotech
$13.6M raised
3 funding rounds · 20 deals tracked
New products
DLS-1 Mass Spectrometer for Fusion Gas AnalysisHiden Analytical Featured
Orion Sputtering Deposition SystemsAJA International Featured
GHK-CuPeoples PepsMarket insights
Last 30 days: Quantum Technologies was the busiest vertical: 61 of 192 events (32%).
Money raised per month
