Scientists and engineers produce world's first carbon-14 diamond battery

11 December 2024

School of Chemistry researchers Professor Neil Fox and Dr James Smith are among a group of scientists and engineers to have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, an incredibly long-lasting energy source with the potential to power devices for thousands of years.

With a half-life of over 5,700 years, a thin beta-emitting carbon-14 diamond film forms the electron "source" in this diamond battery structure. The carbon-14 diamond is encapsulated in a standard radiation-hard carbon-12 diamond film to produce a safe device.

It is anticipated diamond batteries could be used in extreme environments, in both space and on earth, where it is not practical to replace conventional batteries.

In collaboration with Professor Tom Scott (Interface Analysis Centre) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), this work was carried out using a University of Bristol designed chemical vapour deposition reactor housed at UKAEA's site in Culham, Oxfordshire.

For further information, read the full University of Bristol press release.