You better be-leaf it! Eco-friendly ‘battery’ is made from just a baked leaf and sodium

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You better be-leaf it! Eco-friendly ‘battery’ is made from just a baked leaf and sodium

University of Maryland researchers made a battery from an oak leaf
They baked it at 1,000°C for one hour to reveal ‘nanostructured’ carbon
Transformed leaf could absorb sodium carrying the charge to make anode
Breakthrough could lead to more environmentally-friendly batteries

By SARAH GRIFFITHS FOR MAILONLINE
www.dailymail.co.uk

It’s well known that you can turn the humble lemon, and even a potato, into a fully-functioning batteries but researchers have gone a step further.
Experts from University of Maryland have created a battery using just a leaf and some sodium.
However, unlike the fruit and veg versions, the recipe for the leaf battery shouldn’t be tried at home – because it involves baking the leaf at a staggering 1,000°C (1,832°F).
The leaf battery was developed by the department of materials science and engineering.
The researchers used a carbonised oak leaf pumped full of sodium – a soft, silver-white, highly reactive metal – to demonstrate it could be used as a battery’s negative terminal, or anode.
‘Leaves are so abundant. All we had to do was pick one up off the ground here on campus,’ said Hongbian Li at the university, who is also a member of the faculty at the National Centre for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing, China.
Other studies have shown that melon skin, banana peels and peat moss can be used in this way, but a leaf needs less preparation.
Most rechargeable batteries currently use lithium, but the race is on to make a battery using sodium, which can hold more charge.
Until now, however, experts have struggled to find an anode material that’s compatible with sodium…..More Here

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You better be-leaf it! Eco-friendly ‘battery’ is made from just a baked leaf and sodium