The Belgian research center Imec announced the development of an inexpensive technology for the production of nanoporous material with outstanding qualities. The unique material in the form of a nanocellular structure has an extremely high porosity and an unprecedented surface to volume ratio. Imagine a small can of soda, 75% of which is empty, with a total surface area the size of a football field. At the same time, the production of the material is quite simple and not expensive, and almost any metals can be used as its basis. Thus, the range of application of such a nanoporous material can be very, very large.
However, the main purpose of the new material with a nanoporous structure and a large internal area is chemical reactions that require large surfaces to accelerate reactions. For example, these can be lithium-ion batteries, in which an increase in the reaction area for the conversion of lithium into lithium ions leads to an increase in power output and efficiency. Moreover, the metallic nature of the nanomaterial allows current-collecting contacts to be connected directly to it. Also, the porous material will improve the performance of fuel cells and systems for extracting hydrogen from water. Instead of a catalytic membrane of about a millimeter thick nickel foam, for example, the new material is 300 times thinner, but gives the same effect as nickel. Green energy and batteries may have a chance to significantly improve technologies and solutions.
In production, the new material is quite simple, as mentioned above. First, a mold is made from aluminum foil by anodizing. Then the process of electroplating is switched on with precise dosing of metallic aluminum (or other metal). After filling the voids in the form, the latter is dissolved, freeing the spatial cellular structure from nanowires. A strip of nanoporous material looks like foil. It bends and does not break, unlike modern nanoporous materials made in a different way. We look forward to practical implementation. The same batteries we need more and more.
Source: 3dnews.ru
