Recently, Chinese scientists officially announced the results of their research on nuclear energy batteries in Nature Magazine . Accordingly, the research team of Professor Wang Shu Ao of Dong Wu University (China) exploited alpha rays released from radioactive isotopes to create this type of battery.

Currently, alpha radioactive isotopes are bright "candidates" for micronuclear batteries, due to their high decay energy, from 4 to 6 mega electron volts (MeV). The potential energy of alpha rays far exceeds that of beta radioactive isotope mining devices. Meanwhile, the highest decay energy of beta radioactive isotopes is about several tens of kiloelectron volts (KeV).

Although the efficiency is 8,000 times higher than that of conventional batteries, the micronuclear battery still has limitations because the extremely short penetration into solids causes alpha particles to lose a lot of energy through the self-absorption effect. According to Professor Vuong Thu Ao - head of the research team: "The self-absorption effect reduces the actual capacity of the alpha radioisotope micronuclear battery much more than the theoretical one."

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Illustration of a micronuclear battery created by Chinese scientists. Photo source: SCMP

The design of the micronuclear battery has an integrated layer that acts like a solar cell to make the most of alpha radiation. The team incorporated an energy converter - a polymer layer surrounding the isotope that transfers the energy released during the radiation. By converting it into light and electricity, like a photovoltaic cell.

According to this research, using only 11 microcuries (μCi) of the synthetic radioactive substance 243Am, the complex produced luminescence from alpha rays emitted by the isotope decay process. In another experiment, the luminescence power was determined to be 11.88 nanowatts (nW), with an efficiency of converting energy from the decay process into light reaching 3.43%.

The research team said that the photovoltaic nuclear battery that converts radiation into electrical energy has a long life and operates independently of temperature changes. Specifically, the experimental micronuclear battery has a total power conversion efficiency of 0.889% and generates 139 microwatts/curie.

The micronuclear battery developed by the research team has been rigorously verified through theories and many experiments, showing that its energy conversion efficiency is 8,000 times higher than that of conventional battery structures.

Similarly, the power converter is also highly stable, with performance parameters remaining almost constant for more than 200 hours of continuous operation. With a half-life of 243Am of synthetic radioactive material, the micronuclear battery has a lifespan of up to several centuries.

Battery structure (photo 1), energy converter characteristics (photo 2), theoretical and experimental research results (photo 3), and battery performance results (photo 4). Photo source: China Key Research Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Safety.

"This is one of the major breakthroughs in nuclear batteries in recent decades," commented China Science and Technology Daily . The research not only addresses China's strategic and safety needs for nuclear power, but also offers a new approach to the use of nuclear waste and actinide nuclides outside the nuclear fuel cycle.

The SCMP newspaper assessed as follows: "The long half-lives and high-energy alpha decay of some isotopes manifest themselves in the form of radioactive toxicity of nuclear waste. However, these isotopes still bring the advantage of long life and high energy."

Professor Wang Shu Ao is a Chinese scientist who has made great achievements in nuclear waste and wastewater treatment projects, as well as research on emergency response to accidents. He has spent many years focusing on China's strategic needs for sustainable and safe nuclear development.

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