The sun is a giant source of energy. In just one hour, it is spilled on Earth in such quantity that humanity would have had enough of it for all its needs for a whole year. If only people knew how to assemble and preserve it. But storing solar energy is not a trivial task. And now a student at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) took up the study in search of a way that could become the basis of technology that allows to capture the energy of the light and save it for use on rainy days. Even now, when solar energy is not yet widespread, it is already used in the manufacture of fuel for cars.
About this in the article "Better battery for storing solar energy?" With reference to the Faculty of Science of the University of Copenhagen reports the resource ScienceDaily. Anders Bo Skov, a student in the chemistry department of this school, recently began his undergraduate degree program. Together with his supervisor, Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen, he published the article “Towards Solar Energy Storage in the Photochromic Dihydroazulene-Vinylheptafulvene System” (“About the storage of solar energy in photochromic dihydro-azulene-vinylheptafequinet drawing. European Journal.
Professor Brønsted is the head of the Center for Exploitation of Solar Energy at the University of Copenhagen. His team is working on molecules that are capable of collecting and holding solar energy in significant amounts and storing it for a long time, so that it can be used as needed. Unfortunately, for a year of research, they found out the following: when the ability of molecules to collect energy increases, their ability to store it decreases.
Scientists are working on molecules that are called dihydroazulenovo-vinylheptafulvenoyl system (Dihydroazulene-Vinylheptafulvene). It accumulates energy, changing its shape. But each time, when the team of Professor Bronsted seeks to improve these molecules, they lose some of their ability to retain their energy storage form. This was reported by Professor Bronsted himself:
Despite everything we do to prevent it, the molecules change their shape back and release the stored energy in an hour or two. The achievement of Anders is that he coped with the task of doubling the energy density in a molecule that can hold its shape for hundreds of years. Our only difficulty right now is how to make it release energy again. This molecule does not seem to want to change its shape in the opposite direction.
During his undergraduate degree, Anders Bo Skov had four months to perfect the unstable Brønsted molecule as part of his undergraduate project. And he managed to achieve this. Chemistry is much like the work of a baker. Bread will not leave the oven if, for example, flour disappears from the dough. Using this analogy, Skov saw that a molecule loses energy:
My chemical “recipe” required four steps of synthesis in order to work. The first three were easy. I developed them in just a month. The third step took me three months.
Regardless of the method, when you want to save energy, there is a theoretical limitation of the energy density. And now the reality. In theory, a kilogram of the desired molecules can save megajoule energy in the case when the molecules have the appropriate design. With this amount of energy, you can bring three liters of water from room temperature to a boil.
A kilogram of molecules developed by Skovom can boil only 75 centiliters of water, but the whole process will take only three minutes. This means that the molecules of its development are able to boil 15 liters of water per hour and Skov, like his supervisor, believes that this is only the beginning. Professor Bronsted with clear enthusiasm clarifies:
Anders' achievement is important and outstanding. I must say that we do not have a good method of releasing energy out of necessity and we need to further increase the energy density. But now we know which path to follow to achieve success.
Molecules are fairly stable in their own right. At the same time, according to Professor Bronsted, they are completely non-toxic. When the ability to store solar energy is achieved, the professor says, the developed solution will compete with lithium-ion batteries, since lithium is a toxic metal. Developed by Professor Brensted, the molecules in their work process do not emit either CO2 or any other chemical compounds. And when the molecule is worn, it is converted into a pigment, which is also contained in chamomile colors. It should be noted that earlier solar panels have learned how to make shrimp shells.
Despite the obstacles, Skov got so pleasant impressions of his bachelor's project that he decided to include it in his master's program. Usually, students of the magistracy begin their program with a one-year course and only then begin to study their theses. Skov just continues in the laboratory the work that was started as part of his bachelor's project. His work is carried out within the framework of the university "Center for the Use of Solar Energy", which will guide his ideas for improving the molecules that capture the energy of the Sun. Now he would like to “teach” molecules to release energy as needed. And a 25-year-old graduate student seeks to develop such an obedient molecule, which not only accumulates energy, but also allows it to be used in the future. Solar energy is also used in refrigerators that do not need electricity.
Do you think solar energy is a promising direction? If it becomes possible to accumulate it and use it when necessary, will this be an important step towards its mass distribution? In what areas could solar energy be used in the near future?
The article is based on materials .
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