Researchers have identified a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent dye which may be an ideal material for stockpiling energy in rechargeable, liquid-based batteries that could one day power cars and homes.
The dye called BODIPY or boron-dipyrromethene, excel at two key tasks: storing electrons and participating in electron transfer, according to researchers from University at Buffalo.
In experiments, a BODIPY-based test battery operated efficiently and with longevity, running well after researchers drained and recharged it 100 times. The research was published in the journal ChemSusChem.