It is quite common nowadays when you see a battery storing power by making use of solar cells. However, a group of Indian scientists came up with a battery that features a titanium nitride based photo-anode instead of using a traditional anode. This allows the battery to charge itself by making use of artificial light or solar light.
It has been created by a team that was led by Dr. Musthafa Ottakam Thotiyl from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research. According to the team, the battery is able to charge itself completely within 30 seconds when using normal indoor lighting and is eventually able to provide enough power so that an LED or a small fan can be run using it. It lasts for a total of 100 charge and discharge cycles.
Titanium nitride is also known to be more stable when compared with conventional materials used as anode thus making the battery less susceptible of overheating and catching fire. As of right now, it is not able to crank enough power to allow powering gadgets such as smartphones. The ‘photo battery’ has been described in a paper that was published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
