On January 17, 2017, a report slipped onto the pages of Nature.Com virtually unnoticed. In it, a consortium of scientists announced their discovery of “a hybrid photo-cathode in a two-electrode system. With Li metal anode and LiPF6-EC/DEC/VC electrolyte that corresponds to standard Li-ion battery charging.” Put simply, this means a photosensitive battery charging directly from the sun.
How a Photosensitive Battery Could Change Human Communication
Society changed immeasurably when it became possible to speak directly to someone in space, or on the far side of the planet. Alexander Graham Bell began the revolution.
But his beneficiaries were tied by a cable to the wall, as surely as a table lamp connects the grid. Then the birth of the battery eventually enabled the evolution of portable handsets, but we still needed to plug them into walls for a recharge.
And then along came solar power, and its companion lithium-ion technology. By combining these two, we developed solar-powered phone chargers. This was a further step towards fully mobile communication technology. Now, the consortium of scientists is preparing to take this technology to the next stage. They are getting ready to create the world’s first photosensitive battery. Because they want to create a battery that no longer needs an external charger!
The Technology behind This Remarkable Breakthrough
Essentially, the scientists have found a way to build light harvesting material into a battery. They added molecules with a photosensitive dye to a cathode where batteries receive their external power.
This addition enabled them to simulate direct charging from the sun which incredibly proved that is is possible to charge a battery directly from sunshine!
But these are early days, and we may be years from seeing the first working prototype of a photosensitive battery. Their next step is to develop an appropriate anode to store the solar energy. Then we can start dreaming of smartphones, laptops, and wearables that no longer require separate solar panels. Instead, they will be a new generation that lets the sun shine directly on a photosensitive battery through tiny apertures. We do live in interesting times!
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Preview Image: LiFePO4/Dye Photocathode and Response to Light Exposure
Research Report: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14643
