Research on rubber energy storage materials

Can natural rubber be used for energy harvesting?

The basic aptitude of natural rubber for energy harvesting is tested on two example materials based on natural rubber and on commonly used acrylic elastomer. Using commercially available mass products ensures a large material supply chain with identical composition, produced under the quality standards common in industry.

Is natural rubber a polymer?

Natural rubber (NR) which is considered as a polymer has been highly used for some industrial applications and now it is among the natural materials getting attraction in the field of energy and power. Due to the insulating nature of NR, it cannot be employed for conducting purposes directly.

Is natural rubber a good elastomer?

Natural rubber has higher elastic modulus, fracture energy and dielectric strength than a commonly studied acrylic elastomer. We demonstrate high energy densities (369 mJ g −1) and high power densities (200 mW g −1), and estimate low levelized cost of electricity (5–11 ct kW −1 h −1).

Can natural rubber be used as a soft energy generator?

Here we identify natural rubber as a material for soft energy generators that allow for ocean wave energy harvesting at a potentially low LCOE in the range of 5–11 ct kW −1 h −1, significantly lower than currently available technology.

Why should we develop materials for energy storage devices?

Developing materials for energy storage devices such as batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells has become very crucial in the recent years. It is mainly to address issues related to safety and cost in addition to high performance to accomplish hopes for a safer future.

Are natural rubber-based generators a good choice?

Natural rubber-based generators are very promising due to the low cost of material production and high energy conversion potential. We demonstrated that soft, natural rubber generators have high specific power resulting in systems that are lightweight and low cost.