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Right now, the world is on the brink of an energy crisis, with dozens of cities around the globe struggling to provide citizens with enough power for everyday use. Scientists have been trying to find a way to address this issue with everything from better solar cells to getting energy from algae. This time, a new innovation is in the works involving paint that could turn heat into electricity.
The new discovery was made by researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in conjunction with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI). The paint that they created is one among a long line of projects that are currently in the works to help address the rising energy problems, Futurism reports.
Some of the most successful results pertaining to research into paints that can produce electricity is a type of photovoltaic medium. It basically acts the same way as solar panels by absorbing sunlight and then turning that into electricity. However, instead of the sun’s light, the paint that the Korean researchers created uses heat in general.
The paint is made through the combination of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and molecular sintering aids. Once done, the material can be used pretty much like any can of paint. Just dip the brush in and start coating surfaces. Since it can use heat from practically any source, it can be used to paint the inside of homes where it will draw heat from residents, lights, other electronic devices, and even the residual heat during hot days.
One of the researchers and co-author of the study is Jae Sung Son and he recently spoke with Phys.org about the results of their research. According to him, one of the most appealing prospects of using the paint is recycling wasted heat.
"I expect that the thermoelectric painting technique can be applied to waste heat recovery from large-scale heat source surfaces, such as buildings, cars, and ship vessels," Jae Sung Son said. "For example, the temperature of a building's roof and walls increases to more than 50 °C in the summer," he said. "If we apply thermoelectric paint on the walls, we can convert huge amounts of waste heat into electrical energy."
