Scientists are developing new self-charging battery that harvest energy from light that could put an end to our smartphone recharging miseries.

Scientists are developing a new self-charging battery that could harvest energy from light. If this battery is a success, you wouldn’t have to keep looking for the charger to charge your smartphones. It could put an end to the charging of smartphones over and over again.

Lithium-ion batteries have allowed the vast spread of mobile devices such as phones, tablets and computers. However, these tools require frequent re-charging. This would most probably be because of the limited energy density of their batteries. This requirement has led to the development of portable solar chargers. But these hybrid devices are difficult to scale down due to their complex circuitry and packaging issues.

Researchers are working on a single device capable of harvesting and storing energy using light to solve this problem. Recent studies have shown that a standard cathode-the negatively charged electrode by which electrons enter an electrical device- from a lithium- ion battery can be “sensitized”. So as to light by incorporating photo-harvesting dye molecules. Scientists will now have to build a connection which will close the device’s circuit. The storage component will allow energy produced by the cathode to be transferred and stored.

If they succeed, they will have built the world’s first 100 per cent self-charging lithium-ion battery.

Source: www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/