Petrovite mineral found in Russian volcano can recharge your batteries

New Delhi : A team of researchers in Russia have found a new mineral Petrovite that could be used to recharge batteries in future. 

A team at the University of St. Petersburg, led by Stanislav Filatov, a specialist in crystals (crystallographer) dug out petrovite, aka Na10CaCu2(SO4)8, which is a blue globular and gaseous mineral that can power the batteries that can be stored as a form of renewable source of energy.

The findings from the research have been published in the Mineralogical Magazine; the scientists have found that the mineral promises ionic conductivity that can be used as a cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.

Scientists have conducted research for the petrovite for nearly 40 years. The mineral was observed by a research associate Svetlana Moskaleva at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

At present, the biggest problem for this use is the small amount of a transition metal- copper - in the crystal structure of the mineral. It might be solved by synthesizing a compound with the same structure as petrovite in the laboratory," said researcher Filatov.

"The copper atom in the crystal structure of petrovite has an unusual and very rare coordination of seven oxygen atoms," Filatov added.

"This territory is unique in its mineralogical diversity. In recent years, researchers have discovered dozens of new minerals here, many of which are one-of-a-kind in the world," the university said in a statement.

The mineral promised the scope for running futuristic alternative technology for energy storage systems. Furthermore, scientists termed the discovered mineral a “low cost’ sodium in the Earth’s crust that can take renewable energy to new heights with its peculiar molecular hallmark.