People-powered nanogenerator

researchers have developed a new technique for powering nanoscale devices by converting muscle movements or water flow into electricity.

The nanogenerators produce current by bending and then releasing zinc oxide nanowires, which are both piezoelectric (they generate electricity by applying force to crystals) and semiconducting. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the NASA Vehicle Systems Program and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored the research

“There is a lot of mechanical energy available in our environment,” said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regents Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Our nanogenerators can convert this mechanical energy to electrical energy. This could potentially open up a lot of possibilities for the future of nanotechnology.”

The nanogenerators developed by Wang and graduate student Jinhui Song use the very small piezoelectric discharges created when zinc oxide nanowires are bent and then released. By building interconnected arrays containing millions of such wires, Wang believes he can produce enough current to power nanoscale devices.