Physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute have found a way to turn thousands of tons of seemingly useless nuclear waste into diamond batteries that can last up to 5,000 years.
The team also claimed that the “diamond batteries” – which are enclosed within other diamonds for safety – are not at all dangerous and release less nuclear radiation than a banana. Such long-lasting diamond batteries could be used in implants such as pacemakers, drones, satellites, spacecraft and other applications where battery life is crucial. It could help solve the problems of nuclear waste, clean electricity generation and battery life, the researchers say.
Professor Stephen Lincoln, a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide, said this discovery, if confirmed, would be revolutionary.
“Nuclear waste is a huge issue and 150,000 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste are stored in various places around the world. It is stored there temporarily, while the only permanent storage facility is in Finland, but there is nothing there yet. If we could use nuclear waste to produce energy, apart from the fact that we don’t have to find somewhere to store it, the most important thing is that no carbon dioxide would be produced, which would be extremely beneficial for the environment.”
Scientists have found that by heating pieces of graphite – used to house uranium rods in nuclear reactors – a large amount of radioactive carbon is emitted as a gas. This can then be captured and converted into radioactive diamonds using a high-temperature chemical reaction, in which the carbon atoms stick to the surface in small, dark-coloured diamond crystals.
When placed near a radioactive source, these artificial diamonds generate a small electrical charge. The radioactive diamonds are then safely encased within a layer of non-radioactive diamond. The team has already demonstrated a prototype diamond battery using Nickel-63, but the researchers said that Carbon-14 would provide a more efficient source of radiation.
“Carbon-14 was chosen as the raw material because it emits short-range radiation, which is quickly absorbed by any solid material,” said Dr. Neil Fox. “This would make it dangerous if ingested or touched bare skin, but packaged inside the diamond, the short-range radiation cannot escape. In fact, diamond is the hardest substance known, there is literally nothing that could be used to provide greater protection.”
