Electric Current Generation From Dendrimer-Based Magnetofluid Flow in a Toroidal Chamber

Nowadays, the sustainable power generation is the global movement to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuel. In this framework, new materials are vital in enabling technologies that can offer promising solutions for a sustainable energy future. Magnetofluid (MFs) holds great promise for innovation to power generation. MFs are homogenous combinations of a base fluid and nanoparticles with permanent magnetic dipoles. In this article, the MF composed by polyglycerol dendrimer (PGlyD) as a base fluid for superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) was used to generate a time-varying magnetic flux and induce an electromotive force in a coil. The MF has been prepared from in situ electrosynthesis of 10-19 nm diameter SPIONs inside the cavities of PGlyD and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The magnetization of the PGlyD-SPIONs underflow in a toroidal channel creates a time-varying magnetic flux and induces an electromagnetic force in a coil around the torus generating an electric current. The flow of the magnetized PGLyD-SPIONs in the toroidal chamber was able to give an output current of 0.3 mA. This development of power generators based on PGlyD-SPIONs will be promising for portable electronics.