Glow-in-the-dark dye called BODIPY may power cars and homes in future, say researchers

A glow-in-the-dark fluorescent dye has been identified by the researchers which may be ideal for amassing energy in rechargeable, liquid-based batteries that could power cars and homes in the future. The dye is named BODIPY or boron-dipyrromethene. It shines bright in the dark under a black light.

Researchers from University at Buffalo (UB) in the US say unusual chemical properties have been found in the dye. It could excel at two key tasks – it can store electrons and participate in electron transfer.

Searchers said that in order to save and deliver energy, batteries must perform these functions and BODIPY is quite good at it.

When experiments were conducted , a BODIPY-based test battery worked efficiently as well as with longevity.  It run well after it was drained and recharged 100 times.

 “BODIPY is a promising material for a liquid-based battery called a “redox flow battery,” said lead researcher Timothy Cook, an assistant professor at UB College of Arts and Sciences.

These fluid-filled power cells have several advantages over those made from conventional materials. Cook said that Lithium-ion batteries are risky and can even catch fire if they break open.

Lithium-ion batteries, for example, are risky in that as they can catch fire if they break open, Cook said. However, the dye-based batteries will not catch fire, if ruptured they would simply leak, he said.

Redox flow batteries can also be easily enlarged to store more energy. A homeowner can thus power a solar house overnight. A utility company will be able to stockpile wind energy for peak usage times.
Scaling up has been a challenge for many other proposed battery technologies, so this matters.
Electrons are harvested from one tank and moved to the other during the usage of the battery. In this process, an electric current is generated and this could power as small as a flashlight or as big as a house.

To recharge the battery, you would use a solar, wind or other energy source to force the electrons back into the original tank, where they would be available to do their job again.

A redox flow battery’s effectiveness depends on the chemical properties of the fluids in each tank.

“The library of molecules used in redox flow batteries is currently small but is expected to grow significantly in coming years,” Cook said.

“Our research identifies BODIPY dye as a promising candidate,” he said.

Based on the experiments, scientists also predict that BODIPY batteries would be powerful enough to be useful to society, generating an estimated 2.3 volts of electricity.

The research was published in the journal ChemSusChem.

(With inputs from PTI)