US researchers propose new concept to develop hydrogen hydroxide chemical energy nanobattery technology

Eduard Karpov, assistant professor of civil and materials engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has received a three-year grant of $217,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop a new type of battery called a "catalothermionic generator."

Similar to solar cells, the new cell has a flat surface that can generate electricity, but instead of sunlight, the oxidation of hydrogen gas powers the electron flow. Unlike traditional hydrogen fuel cell technology, this new approach, called "chemovoltaics," harvests the energy from the hydrogen oxidation reaction, which occurs on a catalytic metal surface similar to a film. Unlike fuel cells, "chemovoltaic" devices can be very small and flat, do not release or absorb heat energy, and can operate at lower temperatures. Like fuel cells, the only byproduct of its energy production process is water.

The device consists of a nanolayer of catalytic material on a semiconductor substrate. Karpov and his team will test how these nanodevices change structure to produce the most energy. They will also test different types of catalytic materials such as platinum, palladium or certain oxides to see which works best, whether different thicknesses of catalytic material make a difference, and study the effects of different patterns on the catalyst surface on performance.

The device will initially be used for tiny military generators with small size and light weight. As the technology develops, it could be connected directly to computer chips as a power source, or to tiny devices such as nanorobots. The main task of the project is to prove that the technology is commercially viable in principle and has the potential to compete with fuel cells.