![]() “This field of research is very new so the precise mechanism working inside the supercapacitor still isn’t known,” said Temprano. Understanding these mechanisms, the possible losses, and the routes of degradation are all essential before the supercapacitor can be scaled up. The results from Temprano’s contribution help narrow down the precise mechanism at play inside the supercapacitor when CO2 is absorbed and released. The technique uses a pressure sensor that responds to changes in gas adsorption in the electrochemical device. Using this method, the supercapacitor both captures carbon and stores energy.Ĭo-author Dr Israel Temprano contributed to the project by developing a gas analysis technique for the device. When the electrodes become charged, the negative plate draws in the CO2 gas, while ignoring other emissions, such as oxygen, nitrogen and water, which don’t contribute to climate change. However, this supercapacitor does not absorb CO2 spontaneously: it must be charging to draw in CO2. For example, the CO2 dissolves into a water-based electrolyte which is basically seawater.” “We want to use materials that are inert, that don’t harm environments, and that we need to dispose of less frequently. The electrodes are made of carbon, which comes from waste coconut shells. “The best part is that the materials used to make supercapacitors are cheap and abundant. “The trade-off is that supercapacitors can’t store as much charge as batteries, but for something like carbon capture we would prioritise durability,” said co-author Grace Mapstone. Instead, it relies on the movement of electrons between electrodes, so it takes longer to degrade and has a longer lifespan. A battery uses chemical reactions to store and release charge, whereas a supercapacitor does not rely on chemical reactions. The results are reported in the journal Nanoscale.Ī supercapacitor is similar to a rechargeable battery but the main difference is in how the two devices store charge. Then it will be a question of scaling up.” “Our next questions will involve investigating the precise mechanisms of CO2 capture and improving them. “The charging-discharging process of our supercapacitor potentially uses less energy than the amine heating process used in industry now,” said Forse. ![]() “We found that that by slowly alternating the current between the plates we can capture double the amount of CO2 than before,” said Dr Alexander Forse from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, who led the research. This improved the supercapacitor’s ability to capture carbon. In work led by Trevor Binford while completing his Master’s degree at Cambridge, the team tried alternating from a negative to a positive voltage to extend the charging time from previous experiments. The supercapacitor consists of two electrodes of positive and negative charge. The most advanced carbon capture technologies currently require large amounts of energy and are expensive. Around 35 billion tonnes of CO2 are released into the atmosphere per year and solutions are urgently needed to eliminate these emissions and address the climate crisis. The present work provides a novel method to adjust the surface charge of CDs and apply these CDs as alternative antibacterial agents.The supercapacitor device, which is similar to a rechargeable battery, is the size of a two-pence coin, and is made in part from sustainable materials including coconut shells and seawater.ĭesigned by researchers from the University of Cambridge, the supercapacitor could help power carbon capture and storage technologies at much lower cost. aureus) via electrostatic interaction and then disturb their physiological metabolism, eventually leading to bacterial death. These CDs with positive surface charge can be selectively absorbed on the cell walls of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. Further antibacterial experiments show that 250 μg mL −1 of CDs with +33.2 ± 0.99 mV can selectively kill Gram-positive bacteria and the antibacterial efficiency can reach approximately >99%. The surface charge of these CDs can be regulated from +4.5 ± 0.42 mV to +33.2 ± 0.99 mV by increasing the contents of pyridine N and pyrrolic N in CDs. ![]() Here, we developed a series of cationic carbon dots (CDs) with high-performance as antibacterial agents by using tartaric acid and m-aminophenol as precursors. Also, as antibiotics have been widely used, abusing of antibiotics is becoming an increasingly serious problem which is followed by dangerous drug resistance. Gram-positive bacteria are one of the most common pathogens causing severe and acute infection, and hospital infection caused by Gram-positive bacteria have increased significantly.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |