Nanoscience and Energy

Energy Change

From coal to oil, from batteries to nuclear

energy, from the sun to wind, from bright
lights to the car engine.

How can small science help us

produce big changes in
energy production?
 Energy,
...I See the Light!

What will light up your life in the future: gas, coal

or an alternative fuel, possibly an alternative fuel
made using nanotechnology? New ideas using
nanotechnology like those shown
in this section are just a few of the
innovations.
How Big Is Nano?

This is one
nanometer!

http://www.terressentials.com/exposure.html
http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/The_scale_of_things.html
A Fruity Solution

One example of new

alternative energy
production using
nanoscience is
nanocrystalline solar cells
using the dye extracted from
citrus!

http://www.bowlesphysics.com/nano/
http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/thesuggestionbox/Computer.JPG
 Nanosizing Solar Power

 Nanotechnology can offer a more cost effective solar

photovoltaic cell. Presently they are made of glass.

 In the future with the precise control of matter at the

atomic and molecular levels thinner, cheaper and more
lightweight and flexible material than glass can be used.

 Also nanolayers or nanorods can increase the amount of

electricity converted from sunlight. These
nanostructures will be more effective at absorbing light.

Imagine solar cells in roofing tiles, siding and paint!

International Strategy and Foresight Report on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Final Report 19th March 2004
cartoon: http://www.tasmanenergy.com.au/solar_electricity.htm
Charge!
Nanotechnology is being used to
improve the performance of rechargeable batteries.

 New lithium ion batteries which use nanosized lithium

titanate can provide 10 to100 times greater
charging/discharging rates compared to the current
conventional batteries.

 Several research groups are working on hydrogen storage

possibilities in nanostructured materials, including carbon
nanotubes, nanocrystalline magnesium compounds or
organometallic (a combination of organic and metallic)
compounds, which could be applied to fuel cells. Read
more on the next page.

 A videocast on nanotechnology in batteries can be seen at

Batteries videocast if you have Real Player
International Strategy and Foresight Report on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Final Report 19th March 2004
 Hydrogen Fuel Using Nano-graphite
Storing hydrogen has been a big
stumbling block for hydrogen fueled
vehicles, because it requires cold,
heat or pressure, thus requiring
equipment that is heavy, bulky or
expensive.
Carbon nanotubes are being considered
as a possible way to solve this problem,
an expensive way. Graphite layers
spaced slightly less than a nanometer
apart can also store hydrogen at room
temperature and moderate pressures at
close to a good weight. Graphite would
be less expensive and easier to prepare
than carbon nanotubes. Another good
possibility is the use of porous carbon
foams.

http://curtrosengren.typepad.com/alternative_energy/2005/07/nanographite_ma.html
http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007-2-1/hydrogen%20station.jpg
 Power Turbines
Power plants today require
the use of power turbines
to produce energy. Within
the next five years even these turbines will be
changed by nanotechnology. General Electric
is exploring how nanotechnology can help to
make the turbine blades used to spin these
power plants even more durable. Using
ceramics enriched with nanoscale particles,
GE hopes to build more powerful turbines that
operate at higher temperatures.
://images.businessweek.com/mz/05/07/nano2/5.htm?slideShowSpeed=20
Enzyme Production Could
Boost Biofuels Production
Enzymes can be used to help produce
alternatives to petro-based products.
Glucose, from plants, is carbon-based,
like petroleum. It is a base for ethanol, a
gasoline substitute or additive. Glucose
is used to make plastics.

Enzymes are natural, biodegradable and

safe catalysts for chemical processes.
Using farm waste or crops, such as
corn, cornstalks, straw, sugarcane,
soybeans or other cellulose-rich plants,
enzymes could make the production of
glucose cost effectively and clean.
Glucose can then be used to create
gasoline substitutes and other products.

Mark Emalfarb, Dyadic CEO http://curtrosengren.typepad.com/alternative_energy/2005/07/nanographite_ma.html

and http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=37021
 Sunscreen on the Move
Researchers at Georgia Tech suggest that nanoribbons of
zinc oxide, that white smeary sunscreen, produces electrical
charge when moved, thus converting mechanical energy,
such as walking, into electrical energy.

“From each thread, they found picoamps of current, which is

small, but predicted 20-80 mW per square meter of fabric.
That won’t light up any lightbulbs, since even one of those
new LED flashlights requires about 1 Watt — about 50 times
more. But it does show that we could power small sensors or
other devices.” Dr. Zhong Lin, Georgia Tech

Nan0-Energy Generation http://geoffhutchison.net/blog/archives/2008/02/19/nano-energy-generation/ http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-

http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/research.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7180/abs/nature06601.html;jsessionid=FE024646BB64CA8BC4C199FBF2653F2A
bin/abstract.cgi/nalefd/2008/8/i01/abs/nl072440v.html
http://www.aphoenix.ca/photoblog/photos/SunnySkies.jpg
More Nanotechnology in Energy Options
Professor and Nobel
Laureate R.E. Smalley
from Rice University
presented numerous
nanotechnology uses
for energy production
and utilization in this
linked presentation.

-Professor Richard Smalley

Nobel Laureate, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics & Astronomy, Rice University
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?event_id=30122&fuseaction=events.event_summary
-http://free.ed.gov/images/resources/nanoscience-nsf.jpg
 And More…
Scientists at NanoSig
created a presentation to
share what this company
is accomplishing in the
area of alternative energy
using nanotechnology.
You can link to that
presentation here.

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?event_id=30122&fuseaction=events.event_summary
http://www.netrocity.com/images/alternative_energy_310.png
http://www.grcblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bloggers/5/blog_images/solar2.jpg
 Nano-Cleaned Coal

A researcher discusses the

use of nano-catalysts to
clean coal in the
presentation linked here.

http://storage1.morguefile.com/images/storage/c/click/lowrez/Conesville_Power_Plant_041.jpg
 Social, Environmental and Ethical
Concerns
Nanotechnology is Wonderful!
It is said that due to the use of
nanotechnology the ability to collect and
store solar energy cheaply will greatly
reduce the need for fossil fuels and the
power grid.
Also, products (including houses) with
the help of nanotechnology can become
much more efficient, further reducing
energy demand.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ewels.info/img/science/c60images/c60_with_galaxy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ewels.info/img/science/gallery/index.html&h=1000&w=1000&sz=108&hl=en&sta
 Or Isn't It?
“You suggest that carbon nanotubes show potential for hydrogen storage,
thus improving the odds that hydrogen fuel cells could replace fossil-fuel
engines. The development of sophisticated means for fuel storage of
hydrogen does not solve the main problem of the present uneconomic
cost of producing hydrogen for the fuel cell.

As it stands, the use of the chemical

hydrogen for fueling the fuel cell utilizes
more energy in its extraction from
natural gas than is derived from burning
it to power the fuel cell in motor vehicles.
That makes fuel-cell-powered cars a form
of economic science fiction for the very
long-term future, if not forever.”

Michael Zelvin
New York

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_10/c3923024_mz004.htm?chan=search
http://www.linfield.edu/soan/et/images/SER_27052007125123.jpg
 Which Opinion is Correct?
Or is the answer somewhere in
between? What is the cost to the
environment when we manufacture
and use these nanomaterials and
techniques?

http://gstaadblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/climate-change.jpg
 Social, Environmental and Ethical
Concerns

1. Might these nanotechnology developments in

energy infringe on human rights?
2. Could any of them decrease privacy of
individuals?
3. Could the use of nanotechnology for energy have
unwanted and negative environmental effects?
4. What economic impact could the use of
nanotechnology in energy have on producers,
consumers, and other industries? Might they be
negative or positive?
 What About Your Rights?

If so, are these developments

more important than

•Your privacy?
•Your rights as a citizen?
•Your rights as a human being?

Are the answers somewhere in between?

 Planning Your
Presentation
1. What can be done to
maximize the chances that
humans will benefit from,
rather than be harmed by
To prepare for your
these new developments?
presentation, answer
these questions using
2. If we can develop these
reference materials
technologies, should we?
which can include the
Why?
websites linked to this
webquest:

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/02/15/PH2007021502068.jpg
http://www.presentationalspeaking.com/images/pic_2.jpg
 Resources
More information on nanoscience
uses in energy production and
utilization can be found at the
following websites.
 http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/search/home?strCriteria=nanotechnolo
gy&searchtype=story

 http://www.er.doe.gov/News_Information/News_Room/2006/nano/index.htm

 http://www.voyle.net/Nano%20Energy/Nano%20Energy%20%202004-0001.htm

 http://wolbring.wordpress.com/category/energy/

 http://www.mos.org/topics/nanotech_and_nanomedicine

 http://www.nano.gov/html/news/current.html

Numerous nanoscience links can be found at this link: Websites link

http://www.ewels.info/img/science/c60images/c60_with_galaxy.jpg
 More Help

If you would like help breaking down

your research into steps, click on the
help button. It will provide a
breakdown of the questions you will
need to answer.