Walls: That are Chargeable
New use of red bricks has been found by the scientists of Washington University, St. Louis. Redbrick is one of the world’s most used building materials. But now the new research enables these red bricks to transform them into energy storage devices. They can be charged to hold electricity that is similar to an electric battery. These bricks will have multiple uses, one of them is powering LED lights directly from brick.
What made these bricks possible?
Conversion of these bricks into devices that can store electricity has a requirement of a special plastic coating, called PEDOT. This covering protects the surface by covering it along with protecting it from porous cavities in the interior. After covering it with a plastic coating, brick becomes bluish. This allows it to behave like a semiconductor or we can say a solid substance having an electrical conductivity between insulator and conductor. So scientists say by just connecting 2 of the red bricks was able to make energy storage devices.
What Scientists say?
Julio D’Arcy, assistant professor of chemistry at Washington University said that PEDOT-coated bricks that can provide power to emergency lighting are also ideal building blocks. We envision that this could be a reality when you connect our bricks with solar cells for charging. This could take the power of solar energy in 50 bricks in close proximity to the load& enable powering emergency lighting for five hours.
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