"It is one of modern life’s great frustrations: for all of technology’s achievements, smartphones still have batteries that often last less than a day between charges.
The unreliable battery life on many handsets means owners are often left with the choice of waiting at home for their device to charge, or going out and running the risk of a flat battery.
But charging your phone could become a thing of the past after scientists took steps towards developing a phone battery that runs off solar power.
The researchers believe in the future it could mean phones that recharge themselves, or at least have their lifespan dramatically increased.
While solar-powered external chargers that plug into a phone already exist, the scientists at McGill University in Montreal and Hydro-Quebec, the Canadian province’s utility, have found a way to incorporate light-harvesting materials into the in-built battery.
By adding molecules with a photosensitive dye to the cathode - the battery terminal through which a phone is powered from the mains - they were able to simulate the charging process using solar power.
Tests showed it was possible to generate a small amount of power from the photo-sensitive molecules, according to the findings outlined in Nature Communications.
The scientists said they must now develop an appropriate anode, the terminal that stores and releases energy when powering a device. They said if they are successful, they will have created the first self-charging lithium-ion battery, although it is likely to take years.
“Theoretically speaking, our goal is to develop a new hybrid solar-battery system, but depending on the power it can generate when we miniaturise it, we can imagine applications for portable devices such as phones,” said Hydro-Quebec’s Andrea Paolella, who led the study.
Prototypes of a solar-powered phone have been created, but they rely on separate solar panels, which take up valuable space in the device. The self-charging battery would itself be solar-sensitive, although phones would have to be redesigned to let light into the battery.
Despite advances in processors, displays and other smartphone components in recent years, the technology in batteries has hardly changed. Advances have largely been brought about by phones getting bigger, meaning they can fit higher-capacity batteries within them."
Source: James Titcomb, www.independent.ie
"Ni moja ya maisha ya kisasa ya kukatisha tamaa kubwa: kwa mafanikio yote ya teknolojia, simu mahiri bado kuwa na betri ambayo mara nyingi kudumu chini ya siku moja kati ya malipo. """ Kwa sababu ya maisha ya betri ya simu nyingi, wamiliki wa simu huwa na chaguo la kusubiri nyumbani ili kifaa chao chaja au kwenda nje na kuendesha hatari ya betri ya bure. Lakini kuchaji simu yako inaweza kuwa kitu cha zamani baada ya wanasayansi kuchukua hatua kuelekea kuendeleza betri ya simu ambayo inaendesha nje ya nishati ya jua. Watafiti wanaamini kuwa siku zijazo, simu zitakuwa na uwezo wa kujirudisha, au angalau kuongeza maisha yao. Kwa mfano, wakati wa kuunganisha vifaa vya umeme vya jua kwenye simu, wanasayansi wa Chuo Kikuu cha McGill huko Montreal na Hydro-Quebec, kampuni ya umeme ya mkoa wa Canada, wamepata njia ya kuingiza vifaa vya kukusanya mwanga katika betri iliyojengwa ndani. Kwa kuongeza molekuli zenye rangi nyeti kwa mwangaza kwenye cathode - kiunganishi cha betri ambacho simu hupitia kutoka kwa umeme - waliweza kuiga mchakato wa kuchaji kwa kutumia nishati ya jua. Utafiti huo ulionyesha kuwa inawezekana kutengeneza nishati ndogo kutoka kwa molekuli hizo zenye mwangaza, kulingana na matokeo yaliyoelezwa katika jarida la Nature Communications. Wanasayansi hao wanasema sasa wanapaswa kutengeneza anode inayofaa, terminal ambayo huhifadhi na kutoa nishati wakati wa kuendesha kifaa. "Wanasema kwamba ikiwa watafanikiwa, watakuwa wameunda betri ya kwanza ya lithiamu-ion inayojichaji yenyewe, ingawa inawezekana itachukua miaka kadhaa.""" "Kwa nadharia, lengo letu ni kuendeleza mfumo mpya wa betri ya jua ya mseto, lakini kulingana na nguvu ambayo inaweza kuzalisha wakati tunapifanya kuwa ndogo, tunaweza kufikiria matumizi ya vifaa vya kubebeka kama vile simu, "alisema Hydro-Quebec's Andrea Paolella, ambaye aliongoza utafiti huo." Simu ya mkononi ya jua imepangwa kwa ajili ya matumizi ya muda mrefu, lakini ina paneli za jua ambazo huchukua nafasi kubwa. Bateria ya kujishughulisha yenyewe itakuwa nyeti kwa jua, ingawa simu zingeweza kubuniwa upya ili kuruhusu mwanga kuingia kwenye betri. Licha ya maendeleo katika processors, displays na vifaa vingine smartphone katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, teknolojia katika betri ni vigumu kubadilika. Maendeleo hayo yametokana hasa na simu kuwa kubwa zaidi, ikimaanisha kwamba zinaweza kubeba betri zenye uwezo mkubwa zaidi." Chanzo: James Titcomb, www.independent.ie