A study that opened new sustainable paths was developed by the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), in partnership with PUC-RIO.
Research by CNPEM in partnership with PUC-RIO overcame a challenge in the fabrication of microchannels with high electrical conductivity and paves the way for their use in electronic and electrochemical devices.
This major technological challenge was overcome by researchers Mathias Strauss and Murilo Santhiago from the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) together with Omar Ginoble Pandoli from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and their teams funded by the Serrapilheira Institute who used the natural structure of bamboo.
The work was published as an article in the renowned Journal of Materials Chemistry A, of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Discovery
Bamboo has a large number of perfectly aligned, hair-thin microchannels. Scientists have identified between 40 and 60 microchannels per centimeter of the bamboo culm wall. They constitute the plant's vascular system, enabling the transport of water and nutrients. This network of microtubes (vascular bundles) is necessary for the plant to grow rapidly, with some species growing up to 1 meter per week.
With the use of improved electron microscopy equipment at the National Nanotechnology Laboratory (LNNano), it was possible to accurately map the entire structure of bamboo and opened up possibilities for using them to build electrical circuits and integrated electrochemical devices.
Great advantages
One of the main advantages of bamboo for building these electrical circuits is the enormous cost and difficulty of using conventional industrial methods to fabricate microstructures with this arrangement and micrometric dimensions. The metallic coating is very thin (10-15 µm), about ten times smaller than the diameter of the channels, resulting in an extremely lightweight and conductive material.
Another significant and important advantage of using bamboo is the scalability in the production of technological and sustainable products. Because bamboo grows so quickly and easily in tropical countries, most developing economies could exploit it, gaining a competitive advantage with this new technology in the areas of energy, smart materials, and education.