Scientists Create World's Thinnest Electric Generator

Scientists may have managed to create the world's thinnest electric generator. Researchers have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide, which has resulted in a unique electric generator.

Piezoelectricity is a well-known effect. By stretching or compressing a material, the material generates an electrical voltage. Yet for materials that are only a few atomic thicknesses, no observation of this particular effect has been made-until now.

"This material-just a single layer of atoms-could be made as a wearable device, perhaps integrated into clothing, to convert energy from your body movement to electricity and power wearable sensors or medical devices, or perhaps supply enough energy to charge your cell phone in your pocket," said James Hone, co-leader of the new research, in a news release.

For the new nanogenerator to work, it depends on a few key factors. In order to use molybdenum disulfide, the researchers must use an odd number of layers and flex it in the proper direction. The material is highly polar, so an even number of layers cancels out the piezoelectric effect. In addition, the material's crystalline structure is also piezoelectric in only certain crystalline orientations.

"This is the first experimental work in this area and is an elegant example of how the world becomes different when the size of material shrinks to the scale of a single atom," said Hone. "With what we're learning, we're eager to build useful devices for all kinds of applications."

The researchers hope to use these new findings to incorporate into wearable devices in the future.

The findings are published in the journal Nature.