New scientific apparatus creates electricity from snow

Researchers and colleagues at UCLA have designed a new device that generates electricity from falling snow. First of its kind, this device is inexpensive, small, thin and flexible, like a plastic sheet.

"This device can work in remote areas because it provides its own power and does not require batteries," said lead author Richard Kaner, Dr. Myung Ki Hong's chair of the University. of Los Angeles (UCLA), specializing in materials innovation. "It's a very smart device – a weather station that can tell you how much snow is falling, the direction in which the snow falls, as well as the direction and speed of the wind."

Researchers call this a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator, or TENG of snow. A triboelectric nanogenerator, which generates a charge by static electricity, produces energy from the exchange of electrons.

The results concerning the device are published in the review. Nano Energy.

"The static electricity results from the interaction of a material that captures the electrons and another that gives up electrons," said Kaner, also a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry, of Materials Science and Engineering, and a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. "You separate the charges and create electricity from nothing."

The snow is positively charged and yields electrons. Silicone, a material similar to synthetic rubber composed of silicon and oxygen atoms, associated with carbon, hydrogen and other elements, is negatively charged. When snow falls on the silicone surface, the charge captured by the device generates electricity.

"The snow is already loaded, so we thought, why not bring another material with the opposite charge and extract the charge to create electricity?" Maher El-Kady, co-author, postdoctoral researcher in chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA.

"While the snow likes to give away electrons, the performance of the device depends on the efficiency of the other material in extracting these electrons," he added. "After testing a lot of materials, including aluminum foil and teflon, we found that silicone produced more charge than any other material."

Each winter, about 30% of the Earth's surface is covered with snow, during which time solar panels often do not work, El-Kady noted. The accumulation of snow reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the solar panels, limiting the power of the panels and making them less efficient. The new device could be integrated into solar panels to provide continuous power when it snows, he said.

The device can be used to monitor winter sports, such as skiing, to evaluate and improve more accurately the performance of an athlete when he runs, walks or jump, said Kaner. It is also possible to identify the main movement patterns used in cross-country skiing, which can not be detected with a smart watch.

It could usher in a new generation of self-powered portable devices to track athletes and their performance.

It can also send signals indicating whether a person is moving. He can tell when a person walks, runs, jumps or walks.

The research team used 3D printing to design the device, which features a silicone layer and an electrode to capture the charge. The team believes that the device could be manufactured at low cost considering "ease of manufacture and availability of silicone," said Mr. Kaner. Silicone is widely used in the industry, in products such as lubricants, electrical wire insulation and biomedical implants. It now offers a potential for energy recovery.