Nanogenerators That Can Produce Electricity with a Pinch

Six years ago, scientists began their research in putting together a nanogenerator that could generate electricity with a cue from normal body movement. What sounded a weird, almost impossible vision six years ago saw a streak of progress over the years. Finally, at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, scientists revealed the development that has been taking place in this sphere ever since its conception.

Cannot be’littled'

Leading the research, scientist, Zhong Lin Wang, Ph.D. shared his vision and the potentiality of this technology. According to him, the success of this technology will make most electronics portable. Making it easier to carry, and completely eliminate the need for external power generators. The ‘pinch to generate power’ is just one of the many modes of power generation, as per the scientists at the meeting. Yet another power generation mode is placing the generator in the sole of a shoe. This way electricity can be generated by the walking movement of a person.

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The fundamentals of nanogenerators are the use of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires in them. The key characteristic of these nanowires is their ability to generate electricity when they’re strained or flexed. This plainly means that in the future simple bodily movements like heartbeats, flow of blood, or walking could actually generate power!

Scientists are now hopeful that nanogenerators, in the future, will power cellphones, iPods and other larger electronics.