Press Release 06-064
Nanogenerators May Spark Miniature Machines

Devices convert simple motion into electricity

Georgia Tech Professor Zhong Lin Wang holds a sample nanowire array. Credit and Larger Version

April 13, 2006

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have crafted tiny nanowires that generate electricity when they vibrate. Just like the quartz crystal in a watch, the zinc-oxide nanowires are piezoelectric, which means bending causes them to produce an electrical charge.

Only 20-40 billionths of a meter in diameter, each fiber partners with millions of others to form a nanogenerator capable of producing significant amounts of energy from the slightest activity. According to the researchers, motions from body movement, the stretching of muscles and even the flow of liquids should be able to generate electric charges in the wires--perfect for implantable medical devices, "smart" apparel and a variety of other applications.

Supported by the National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research Metals program, NASA and DARPA, physicist Zhong Lin "ZL" Wang and graduate student Jinhui Song report their findings in the Apr. 14, 2006, issue of the journal Science.

Additional information is available in the Georgia Tech press release linked below and at www.EurekAlert.org.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF (703) 292-7730 jchamot@nsf.gov
John Toon, Georgia Institute of Technology (404) 894-6986 jtoon@gatech.edu

Program Contacts
Harsh Deep Chopra, NSF (703) 292-4543 hchopra@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Zhong Lin Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology (404) 894-8008 zhong.wang@mse.gatech.edu

Related Websites
Georgia Tech press release: http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=932
Zhong Lin Wang laboratory homepage: http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/index.html

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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