Dr Peter Sherrell
@nanoin3d.bsky.social
1.1K followers 430 following 65 posts
Using waste energy to drive chemical reactions Senior Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow (Group Leader) - RMIT University, Australia Catalysis; Energy Harvesting; Materials Science; Polymers; Electrochemistry; Triboelectricity
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nanoin3d.bsky.social
Yes, completely tiny and pretty useless at the moment - but cool!

We've seen in this (and other) work is you can change your surface to make orders of magnitude more electricity.

You always lose energy during conversion processes... And a droplet 💧is a tiny thing! (But there are lots at once ⛈️)
Reposted by Dr Peter Sherrell
nanoin3d.bsky.social
What if Solar Panels harvested energy when rain was falling ❔

In @acs.org #Langmuir - we looked at raindrops falling and sliding. We show the ⚡ charge already on a surface before a droplet 💧 hits a surface matters... a lot⁉️

🧪 #Physics #TENG #Chemsky

@andrissutka.bsky.social
Impact of Initial Charge Conditions on the Slide Electrification of Droplets
Contact electrification and electrostatic induction are the core mechanisms behind solid–liquid (SL) triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which have garnered interest for powering microscale devices....
pubs.acs.org
nanoin3d.bsky.social
A (micro) bit of Diamond can make a lot of difference

In our study led by Arman Ahnood and Kate Fox, we show that microdiamonds 💎 transform Titanium implants into active energy harvesting materials - from fluid flow (think blood 🩸), or as an antenna 📶

doi.org/10.1002/adfm...

#ozchem 🧪 #science
Additively Manufactured Diamond for Energy Scavenging and Wireless Power Transfer in Implantable Devices
Additive manufacturing is expanding beyond mechanical prosthetics into microelectronic implants. This work presents a diamond-titanium hybrid that enables wireless power transfer, localized heating, ....
doi.org
nanoin3d.bsky.social
We also had a lot of fun testing these at the RMIT #FLAMME Lab - showing how these work for next-generation PPE for first responders.

🧪🔬 #science #textiles #contactelectrification #chemsky
nanoin3d.bsky.social
This paper is probably the last one I get into the lab and do *most* of the experimental myself. Perhaps why it started in 2021 and it took 4 years to finish. 🤦‍♂️

Thanks to the wonderful collaborators 💌vand helpers on the way!

Onwards to more motion-driven #catalysis ⚡at #RMIT!

#OzChem 🧪 #chemsky
nanoin3d.bsky.social
New paper on #Hydrogen Evolution!

Really proud of this one - dx.doi.org/10.1002/aesr...

We figured out a way to make non-stick fluoropolymers 'stick' to metals. This meant that if we use #MXenes to polarise the fluoropolymer we get excellent #piezoelectric coupling.

#chemsky 🧪 #science
Piezo‐Electro‐Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Piezoelectric Fluoropolymers
Piezo-electro-catalysis is demonstrated to double the efficiency of hydrogen production from acid by combining a self-poled fluoropolymer with a platinum mesh. The improvement is attributed to locali...
dx.doi.org
nanoin3d.bsky.social
New paper on #Hydrogen Evolution!

Really proud of this one - dx.doi.org/10.1002/aesr...

We figured out a way to make non-stick fluoropolymers 'stick' to metals. This meant that if we use #MXenes to polarise the fluoropolymer we get excellent #piezoelectric coupling.

#chemsky 🧪 #science
Piezo‐Electro‐Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Piezoelectric Fluoropolymers
Piezo-electro-catalysis is demonstrated to double the efficiency of hydrogen production from acid by combining a self-poled fluoropolymer with a platinum mesh. The improvement is attributed to locali...
dx.doi.org
nanoin3d.bsky.social
In terms of rain drops being repelled by static - I suspect it is related - but we haven't studied it in detail enough to make a statement either way!
a painting of rain drops falling on a tiled floor by duc-koolh
ALT: a painting of rain drops falling on a tiled floor by duc-koolh
media.tenor.com
nanoin3d.bsky.social
We *think* - and the next step is demonstrating control of it - that the wobble you see when a droplet jumps releases a little bit of energy, which can interact with the surface to create (or transfer) an electric charge. 💧

I love the fact we still can't (properly) answer something so simple. ⁉️
A droplet that split from pinning events on top of a polymer for measuring droplet electrification
nanoin3d.bsky.social
At this stage, it's really an observation 🔬 - but the next steps in controlling when and how this occurs can have big implications for energy storage 🔋 and flammable fuel 🔥handling processes.

Looking forward to the journey!

#ozchem #chemsky 🧪
nanoin3d.bsky.social
This is amazing for me - discoveries like this, "finding out how the cosmos works" is why I became a scientist. 💓

RMIT has done a wonderful write-up of why this matters, and what it means here:

www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-new...

#ozchem #ChemSky 🧪
Water movement on surfaces makes more electric charge than expected
Researchers have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previous understood when it moves across a surface.
www.rmit.edu.au
nanoin3d.bsky.social
This lets us assemble monolayers from a wide array of different bead #chemistries - letting us have a platform for the continued study of #contact #electrification mechanisms.

Some more cool energy harvesting work coming soon!
Reposted by Dr Peter Sherrell
profdaveleigh.bsky.social
Peng-Lai, @stefanborsley.bsky.social, Martin & our collaborators Alessandro and @giusepponelab.bsky.social demonstrate how a catalyst transduces chemical energy to perform mechanical work in www.nature.com/articles/s41... in @nature.com. tinyurl.com/jny7nen5. Animation @scicommstudios.bsky.social😀