Published on June 15, 2007

Minuscule Generators Convert Motion Into Nanoscale Electricity Source

In a breakthrough that could free nanomachines from the bulk of batteries, researchers have developed a novel nanogenerator--an array of tiny filaments that converts the smallest motions into electrical current.

The nanowires are crafted from zinc oxide, a safe material that would allow the generator to be used in biomedical applications, and may eventually power nanomotors, tiny sensors, and if in large enough arrays, macroscale devices.

Georgia Institute of Technology engineer Zhong Lin Wang and his colleagues announce the development in the Apr. 6 issue of Science.

The researchers developed the generators with the support of the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Emory-Georgia Tech Nanotechnology Center for Personalized and Predictive Oncology.