Batteries to be fuelled using glow-in-the-dark dye

Batteries were drained and recharged 100 times without degrading

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have developed a glow-in-the-dark dye for energy storage technology to be used in rechargeable, liquid-based batteries that could power cars and homes.

The fluorescent dye called BODIPY, short for boron-dipyrromethene, has chemical properties that enable it to store electrons and participate in electron transfer to save and deliver energy.

In experiments, a BODIPY-based test battery operated efficiently and with longevity, running well after researchers drained and recharged it 100 times without degradation.

Lead researcher, Timothy Cook, said: “As the world becomes more reliant on alternative energy sources, one of the huge questions we have is 'how do we store energy?’ What happens when the sun goes down at night, or when the wind stops? All these energy sources are intermittent, so we need batteries that can store enough energy to power the average house.”

The BODIPY material will be used for fluid-filled power cells called “redox flow battery” that present advantages over batteries made from conventional materials. Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire if they break open but the dye-based batteries would not have this problem as they would simply leak if they ruptured.

Redox flow batteries can also be enlarged to store more energy, for example to allow a homeowner to power a solar house overnight, or enable a utility company to stockpile wind energy for peak usage times.

Redox flow batteries consist of two tanks of fluids separated by various barriers. When the battery is being used, electrons are harvested from one tank and moved to the other, generating an electric current. To recharge the battery, a solar, wind or other energy source would force the electrons back into the original tank to repeat the process.

A redox flow battery’s effectiveness depends on the chemical properties of the fluids in each tank.

Cook added: “The library of molecules used in redox flow batteries is currently small but is expected to grow significantly in coming years.”

The researchers predict that BODIPY batteries would be powerful enough to generate an estimated 2.3V of electricity.