Everyday we hear about the unconventional methods of energy generation. But some of these ideas are so bizarre and revolutionary that just intrigued us about their application in real life.One such idea is the generation of the electricity through wooden floors.The movement of people on this floor will generate electricity.
A team of international scientists has developed such a wooden Nano-generator, which generates electricity as soon as our feet hit the floor. With this generated electricity you can light up the LED bulbs.
Developers say that the easy availability of wood and its regenerating capacity make it an affordable and viable idea. Besides production, installation of these Nano generator in homes is also economical.
How does this work?
The generating of electricity is done by the Nano-generator. Two pieces of wood have been used to make this Nano-generator. A layer of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is applied on one side of the wood and layering of ZeoliticImidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8)is done on another piece of wood.Both these chemicals are responsible for attracting and releasing electrons while generating electricity.
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Both these pieces of wood are placed in between the two electrodes. When a person walks on this wood, they get energy and get charged. This is how electricity is generated. This electricity can be used to light the LED bulb. In the language of science, this is called the triboelectric effect.
Why wood?
Researchers say that wood is a cheap, excellent and easily available material. Moreover, It also looks beautiful from the point of view of the interior. Electricity can be generated by installing such energy-harvesting floors in smart buildings that will be ready in the future. Due to the extra layer of wood at the top and bottom of the Nano-generator, it does not touch directly with humans.
Researchers say, if there is no wood, it will prove to be very difficult to prepare this Nano-generator. Wood is important because it is tribonneutral and is not prone to losing a single electron.
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Research revealed that wood of spruce is better for making Nano-generator. Most of this wood is used in Europe. It is cheap and easily available there.
Progress so far
Researchers say the installed Nano-generator is a prototype. In future, it can be in rooms and electricity can be generated on the go. Researchers have not clarified how much it will cost to generate electricity in this way.The research was done jointly by researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Chongqing University in China and the University of Illinois at Northwestern.