The Power-Storage-Brick Could Change the Way We Generate, Transmit and Use Electricity
Researchers from Washington University have developed a way to turn ordinary bricks into energy storage devices. Their research could change how we generate, transmit and use electricity.
The device uses red bricks whose pores contain acid vapors that diffuse iron chemical compounds higher known as rust. These chemicals are converted to electricity using a unique gas that flows through holes filled with electrically conductive PEDOT plastic.
Porous composition
Imagine a world in which brick buildings can store energy drawn from solar panels on the roof. That’s the dream of Julio D’Arcy, who has developed a proof-of-concept power-storing brick that could be used to store excess renewable energy for use during peak production periods and even power small devices. The bricks can be charged and discharged quickly and easily, and are much cheaper than conventional batteries.
The bricks’ porous composition enables them to be transformed into an energy storage device, known as a supercapacitor. First, the pores are powerwall filled with acid vapor that dissolves the iron oxide (or rust) that permeates the bricks and converts it to a reactive form of iron. Then, a distinct gas is transferred through the brick’s cavities and reacts with the iron to form a conductive plastic known as PEDOT. The resulting conductive film coats the brick’s pores, allowing it to store electricity.
The bricks’ pore walls then act as electrodes, with the conductive polymer filling the voids between them and creating an electrical double layer, or EDL. When a current is applied, the PEDOT undergoes oxidation, which attracts positively charged ions from the electrolyte. This ions are then stored within the EDL, and the process can be repeated as many times as needed. Upon reversing the current, the cations are released back into the electrolyte and discharged as electricity.
Chemical synthesis
Bricks have long been used to construct buildings and provide insulation, but they can also be used to store electricity. Using chemical vapors that react with iron, scientists turned standard bricks into energy-storing devices, The Guardian reports. The resulting “power bricks” can be recharged 10,000 times without losing more than 10 percent of their storage capacity.
The process starts with acid vapors that permeate the pores of a brick and dissolve the iron oxide that gives them their red color. This oxidized iron is then converted to a reactive form by the addition of another gas. The resulting chemical reaction coats the brick’s pores with an electrically conductive polymer.
After the bricks are coated with PEDOT, they are assembled into a device along with a platinum foil that serves as the negative electrode. The gel electrolyte is a mixture of 0.1 g of poly(vinyl alcohol) in 1 mL of H2SO4. The PEDOT inside the bricks acts as an ion sponge that stores and conducts energy.
A single brick can store enough energy to power a green LED light for about 10 minutes, and can be recharged up to 10,000 times. While this technology isn’t ready to be used in homes, it shows that it’s possible to integrate power storage into everyday objects. It could one day help us make smarter buildings that use their own walls to store power.
Conductivity
Bricks aren’t usually known for their conductivity, but new innovation could turn them into a source of electricity. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a way to use the porous structure of red bricks to convert them into an energy storage device called a supercapacitor. The bricks are coated with a conductive polymer called PEDOT, and it seeps into the brick’s pores to transform them into electrodes that can hold electricity.
The bricks are also a good material for storing electricity because they contain iron, which is often used in battery chemistry. They also have a lot of surface area, and the more surface area, the more electricity the device can hold. The research team’s technique involved heating the bricks with acid vapor, which dissolved the haematite in the bricks, a mineral that gives them their red color. This dissolved haematite was then mixed with other compounds that reacted with it, producing a network of conductive PEDOT fibres that surround the bricks’ pores.
The resulting brick supercapacitor can operate in a wide temperature range and withstand 10,000 charge-discharge cycles with high coulomb efficiency and Lithium battery 20kwh capacity retention. Its areal capacitance and energy density are 1.60 F cm-2 and 222 mWh cm-2, respectively. The device is also waterproof and protected from water by an epoxy encapsulating layer.
Storage capacity
Power storage bricks buffer fluctuations in energy generation (geothermal, wind) and consumption (particle accelerators, factory not running at peak efficiency). They are a great alternative to gasoline generators because they do not require fuel or maintenance. They also provide a more environmentally friendly solution by using clean energy. They are a safe, quiet and economical way to store solar power for use when the grid goes down.
Fired brick has long been used for construction and architectural esthetics, but it may soon have a new purpose: storing reversible electricity. Researchers have transformed common bricks into energy-storing devices by converting them into supercapacitors. The bricks are filled with a special conductive plastic, called PEDOT, and can be recharged thousands of times before their storage capacity degrades.
The research was published this week in the journal Nature Communications. Julio D’Arcy of Washington University in St. Louis and his colleagues dissolved the haematite that gives bricks their red color by using chemical vapors that reacted with it. They then deposited PEDOT evenly throughout the bricks’ pores, which allowed them to store charge.
While the bricks are currently only capable of storing small amounts of power, they have the potential to be much cheaper than lithium-ion batteries and can store more energy over longer time periods. They also do not need to be charged with hot air, which is expensive and takes up valuable space.
