Each day with our increasing energy needs and power demands, scientists are finding new ways to harness energy from our surroundings. In an addition to the same, the scientists in South Korea have developed a new way to store energy that aims at dealing with the current problem of energy crisis. In the past researchers have developed promising ways like StoreDot, but used cigarette butts for energy is a surprise in its own.
The converted high performing material could be integrated into computers, electronic devices and more. According to the study, this material is superior than carbon nanotubes, graphene and carbon. Professor Yi says: “Our study has shown that used cigarette filters can be transformed into a high-performing carbon-based material using a simple one step process, which simultaneously offers a green solution for meeting the energy demands of society.”
The researchers have demonstrated that a material named cellulose acetate fibres found in cigarette filters could be converted using pyrolysis process and the resultant material contains multiple small pores and it increases its performance making it act like a supercapacitive material. A high performing supercapacitive material has a large surface area and this need is fulfilled by these pores.
After the conversion, this carbon-based material was connected to an ordinary electrode and coupled with a three-electrode system. It was observed that this new material could store more electrical energy due to its high capacity to absorb electrolyte ions during the charging and then release them during the discharging process.
The disposal of cigarette butts is a well-recognized environmental problem and different countries are looking for a way to dispose them and their decomposition. This idea of getting a carbon-based material that could power our computers is definitely a revolutionary one.
With inputs from ScienceDaily
Recommended: Ultra-Fast Charging Batteries Last 20 Years and Charge 70 percent in Two Minutes
