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Sustainably powering wearable electronics solely by biomechanical energy

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Wang

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
    Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center of Dielectric Research, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Shengming Li

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Fang Yi

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Yunlong Zi

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Jun Lin

    (Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center of Dielectric Research, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Xiaofeng Wang

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Youlong Xu

    (Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key laboratory of the Ministry of Education & International Center of Dielectric Research, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Zhong Lin Wang

    (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
    Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST))

Abstract

Harvesting biomechanical energy is an important route for providing electricity to sustainably drive wearable electronics, which currently still use batteries and therefore need to be charged or replaced/disposed frequently. Here we report an approach that can continuously power wearable electronics only by human motion, realized through a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with optimized materials and structural design. Fabricated by elastomeric materials and a helix inner electrode sticking on a tube with the dielectric layer and outer electrode, the TENG has desirable features including flexibility, stretchability, isotropy, weavability, water-resistance and a high surface charge density of 250 μC m−2. With only the energy extracted from walking or jogging by the TENG that is built in outsoles, wearable electronics such as an electronic watch and fitness tracker can be immediately and continuously powered.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Wang & Shengming Li & Fang Yi & Yunlong Zi & Jun Lin & Xiaofeng Wang & Youlong Xu & Zhong Lin Wang, 2016. "Sustainably powering wearable electronics solely by biomechanical energy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms12744
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12744
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    Cited by:

    1. Krishma Singal & Michael S. Dimitriyev & Sarah E. Gonzalez & A. Patrick Cachine & Sam Quinn & Elisabetta A. Matsumoto, 2024. "Programming mechanics in knitted materials, stitch by stitch," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Vidal, João V. & Rolo, Pedro & Carneiro, Pedro M.R. & Peres, Inês & Kholkin, Andrei L. & Soares dos Santos, Marco P., 2022. "Automated electromagnetic generator with self-adaptive structure by coil switching," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    3. Olga Gurova & Timothy Robert Merritt & Eleftherios Papachristos & Jenna Vaajakari, 2020. "Sustainable Solutions for Wearable Technologies: Mapping the Product Development Life Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    4. Sun, Rujie & Li, Qinyu & Yao, Jianfei & Scarpa, Fabrizio & Rossiter, Jonathan, 2020. "Tunable, multi-modal, and multi-directional vibration energy harvester based on three-dimensional architected metastructures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    5. Di Liu & Linglin Zhou & Shengnan Cui & Yikui Gao & Shaoxin Li & Zhihao Zhao & Zhiying Yi & Haiyang Zou & Youjun Fan & Jie Wang & Zhong Lin Wang, 2022. "Standardized measurement of dielectric materials’ intrinsic triboelectric charge density through the suppression of air breakdown," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Cao, Dong-Xing & Lu, Yi-Ming & Lai, Siu-Kai & Mao, Jia-Jia & Guo, Xiang-Ying & Shen, Yong-Jun, 2022. "A novel soft encapsulated multi-directional and multi-modal piezoelectric vibration energy harvester," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    7. Yang, Xin & Lai, Siu-Kai & Wang, Chen & Wang, Jia-Mei & Ding, Hu, 2022. "On a spring-assisted multi-stable hybrid-integrated vibration energy harvester for ultra-low-frequency excitations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).

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