Piezoelectric systems made from synthetic materials are great, thanks to their ability to generate electricity by mechanical stress, but is there a better way to do that? Piezoelectric systems made of natural materials have made breakthroughs in this area, A biomolecule produces impressive power when tapped or squeezed.
Piezoelectric materials have been used in specialized fields such as cellphone speakers, automotive motion detectors, and video game controllers, but synthetic materials such as ceramics used in these systems often contain toxic elements such as lead or lithium.
Now, scientists at the University of Limerick have discovered a candidate material that offers a cleaner and cheaper approach: a biomolecule called glycine, a naturally occurring protein found in forestry and agricultural residues The most important thing is that the team found that it can produce a certain amount of electricity, and the cost is very low.
Sarah Guerin, lead author of the study, said: 'It's really exciting for such a small molecule to produce so much power. We used computer models to predict the electrical response of a variety of crystals, and the numbers for glycine were not in the chart, Long glycine crystals are grown in alcohol, and we only generate electricity by tapping.
Using computer models, teams can rely on predictive data to determine the optimal size and shape of these crystals, which can save years of experimental work, and they are patented to apply the technology to biodegradable Power systems, devices to detect human diseases and physiologically controlled drug pumps.
The research results published in the "Nature" magazine.
