Indian scientists boost green energy storage
A team led by Dr. Kavita Pandey at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, in collaboration with Aligarh Muslim University, has created a new, lead-free material that makes supercapacitors—those speedy energy storage devices—work even better.
Their lanthanum-doped silver niobate (AgNbO3) compound boosts both how much energy these devices can store and how quickly they can charge up or power something.
Breakthrough in supercapacitor technology
By adding lanthanum, the researchers shrank the particles and increased their surface area, so the supercapacitors could charge and discharge really fast.
Even after lots of use, they held onto 118% of their original capacity with almost zero energy loss.
Prototype powered an LCD screen
To show it works outside the lab, the team built a prototype that powered an LCD screen—no problem.
Their results were published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds.
Next steps of the research
The researchers want to try this technique on other materials and ramp up production.
This could mean smaller, more reliable batteries for gadgets and renewable energy systems in the future.