Revolutionizing Electric Flight… By Going Smaller?
Electric flight has been an aspiration for a long time and is just now becoming a reality. However, there are still limiting factors that are slowing the growth of this technology. In this article, I will explore the idea of combining nanotechnology and flight.
I’m sure you’ve all seen it: visions of the future where flying cars and robot assistants are common luxuries. Yet, how close are we to this becoming a reality? We are definitely making strides in the right direction, with artificial intelligence emerging rapidly and companies like Kitty Hawk and AeroMobil currently developing and even testing flying cars. However, there are limiting factors preventing us from reaching this imagined future: politics, global problems, but most of all, the limitations of our technology today. Hey, I’m not saying that the iPhone X and Alexa are primitive, what I’m saying is that there is a large gap between what we imagine in the future and what we have today. I believe that this is a good thing because it motivates us to strive for improvement.
One promising field of tech that could bridge the gap is nanotechnology. It is defined as “A field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the molecular level and the fabrication of devices within that size range.” (ScienceDaily).
Nanomaterials
Nanomaterials are certain materials fabricated that have particles in the nanoscale. Since these materials have enhanced properties such as strength and conductivity, they can increase energy storage and simultaneously decrease battery size.
Graphene
Graphene (not graphite) are single layer films of carbon atoms that are arranged in a hexagonal lattice pattern. It is actually the building block for graphite; when the sheets are stacked they create graphite. However, using the single atom thick sheets does have advantages:
- It is deemed the world’s strongest material - 200x stronger than steel!
- Exceptional thermal and electric conductivity
- It is thin, light, and flexible
With these and many other advantages, it has several applications that can be useful to electric vehicle flight. These include efficient solar panels, high-performance computer chips, and most importantly efficient, high capacity batteries.
Graphene has the potential of creating lightweight, fast charging, chemically inert, high capacity batteries. Oh, and they’re considered to be ecofriendly and sustainable. This can be done by enhancing conventional electrode materials with graphene. It can also be introduced to a battery’s anode, which would improve energy density, or to battery capacitors, which would increase capacity and decrease charge time. Read more on graphene-enhanced batteries here.
Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are cylinder-shaped molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of one layer of carbon atoms (graphene). The difference between CNT’s and graphene is shape: graphene is a 2d sheet, and carbon nanotubes are 3d cylinders. Since they are bonded with sp² bonds and affected by Van Der Waal forces, their molecular structure is extremely strong. CNTs have been found to have many useful properties.
Researchers have found that nanotubes can have varying electroconductivity. This property depends on the arrangement of how the sheet is rolled; they can have high electrical conductivity to none at all. They also have high flexibility and tensile strength, so they can be folded into a convenient shape, high thermal conductivity, and more. The properties of the nanotubes enable them to have several applications.
Energy Distribution and Storage: Of course, because of its conductivity, it can transport electricity. However, the more promising application is energy storage. As there are many initiatives for increasing the usage of electricity over fossil fuels, storage is necessary.
This is where carbon nanotubes come in. Because of their intrinsic properties, they can be used as electrodes in capacitors and/or batteries. Also, their linear geometry creates a platform that is more accessible to the electrolytes. It has been shown that CNTs are great materials for supercapacitor electrodes. They can also be used in various fuel cell components. See more here.
Molecular Electronics:
Building an electronic circuit on the nanoscale has been a concept for a while but has never been fully developed. In the last 5 years, there has been growth in this concept, and CNTs might be a huge step in this technology, as they can serve as the connections in the electronics.
Structural Integrity:
Finally, CNTs can be used for their mechanical properties, specifically strength and stiffness, as a potential material to build aircraft out of.
Buckypaper
Yet another promising material developed with nanotechnology is Buckypaper.
Buckypaper is a sheet of carbon nanotubes in a specific arrangement, so it combines the qualities of CNTs with graphene’s sheet property. That got me thinking, what if we made Buckypaper tubes? Wouldn’t that classify it as a carbon nanotube-tube? Anyway, that’s a subject for another time.
Buckypaper has a lot of similar qualities to the other two materials, but can be shaped willingly. However, the properties of the paper depend on the arrangement of the CNTs. They can be arranged to enhance strength, promote electroconductivity, and more.
Due to the lightweight nature and strength of the material, it can be used as a composite for aircraft, which would decrease weight, increasing overall flight time and cargo capacity. They can also be used to create fuel cells, which would decrease the amount of aluminum needed. It could also be used as an electrode component in certain batteries. However, the larger impact of this is that there actually might be no need for batteries at all, the energy could potentially be stored in the Buckypaper surface of the vehicle. The material is relatively new, so more research has to be done in order to find how to best utilize it.
Aerogels
Lastly, an interesting nanomaterial is aerogels. They are one of the lightest solids known. However, this makes them vulnerable to cracking. They are very effective at insulation, which is especially necessary for aircraft. Another useful application of aerogels is as a supercapacitor.
Nanoparticles
Yet another exciting part of nanotechnology are nanoparticles. They are particles that can be added to substances, liquids, etc. in order to enhance certain properties. Above, I went over some nanocomposite materials and how they can be used to improve batteries. However, nanoparticles can serve another purpose that could revolutionize electric flight.
Solar power: The most common alternative energy source. Solar panels are becoming more and more prominent, but as of today, the most efficient solar panel is around 22.8% efficient, whereas the majority are around 17–18%. This needs to further improve in order for the technology to become mainstream.
Nanoparticles could be used to increase efficiency in solar cells. They have been shown to increase light absorption, enhance the conversion of light to power, and improve thermal storage and transport. Not only would nanotechnology increase efficiency, but it would also decrease manufacturing and installation costs.
The ideal situation would be to use solar power to fully power vehicles in the future. There are many alternative energies, so in the future, I believe we will still rely on multiple sources, but one may become more prominent over the others.
So, when will it happen?
One of the most prominent questions with any emerging technology is “when”. However, there are no promises or even close estimates as to when nanotechnology in flight will become mainstream. The technology itself is being developed rapidly, but we will have to wait to see it used specifically in electric flight. If it does end up becoming used for electric flight, then I can guarantee that the enhanced batteries will be used for other objects as well.
TL;DR
- Electric flight has been limited due to battery weight and limited capacity
- This can potentially be solved with nanotechnology
- Different nanomaterials/nanoparticles can be implemented to enhance different properties of a battery/aircraft
- There are still many unknowns, but the payoff could be huge
Sources
Thanks for reading! I’m a university student passionate about emerging technology, coding, engineering, and more. You can follow me or connect with me on LinkedIn.
