Pollen - a burden for bees and poison for allergy sufferers. However, it can also be an efficient way to store energy. In a study recently published in Scientific Reports, researchers reported on finding ways to transform pollen granules in anodes - an integral part of the battery.
"I began to study the pollen, when a few years ago, my mother appeared allergic to it, - said one of the authors of the study Dzhialyang Tang. - I was struck by the beauty and diversity of microstructures pollen. However, the idea of using them as anodes occurred to me only when I started to work on batteries and learned more about biomass carbonation. "
Carbonation mentioned by Tang, and has become the key to the discovery. In order to make pollen anodes, the researchers heated until it until it is transformed into carbon, using a process called pyrolysis, which carbonises biological material - in the same way as wood is transformed into charcoal.
The difference is that, in contrast to the fire processing, pyrolysis is carried out in the absence of oxygen, and the pollen is not ignited - it merely turns into biochar in the form of pollen. Then it was again heated in the presence of oxygen, increasing the power consumption of the anodes.
Anodes of pollen should replace graphite anodes used in today's lithium-ion batteries. Scientists hope to continue research in this area and to determine the practicality of technology.
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