Graphene is quickly becoming science’s new best friend.
At just one atom thick, this sheet of carbon could both simplify and revolutionize technology—from tissue engineering to drug delivery . And when combined with salt water, it has unexpected potential.
Back in 2014,
Here’s Olivia Goldhill, writing for Quartz:
Here’s how their planned solar panel would work. Raindrops would form a layer of positive ions, which are found in the salt of rainwater. Meanwhile, graphene is rich with delocalized electrons—which are free to move around. This forms a double layer—where positive and negative charges are separated—creating an electric potential between them. The separation in the double layer creates a voltage, just like in a battery.
Unfortunately, the test panel—which was already painted with water far saltier than typical rainwater—produced a small percentage of an average AA battery voltage. Another obstacle facing the team is the fact that graphene cannot yet be mass-produced (though, that could change ). Still, if the team can make improvements on their prototype, solar panels could someday become a lot more practical and widespread.