Researchers from Nanjing University in China and Fukui University in Japan (hereafter referred to as the "joint team") have collaborated on the development of a wearable, high-tech fabric that generates energy through physical movement. They published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Nanoenergy.
The joint team utilized the principle of friction generation to produce friction electricity. Friction-induced electricity is a phenomenon called friction-induced electricity (or the phenomenon in which two different objects are rubbed against each other so that one is positively charged and the other is negatively charged) that involves the use of friction to electrify two different objects.
In practice, friction electricity is created by rubbing two materials together, thereby enhancing the contact between their surfaces. For example, this frictional electricity may occur when you thread a hair through your hair.
Capitalizing on this phenomenon, a composite material called a "friction electric nanogenerator" (also known as a TENG) has been developed that can be used to convert mechanical motion into electrical energy. Due to its small size, TENG can be used to power electronic devices through the movement of the body. The friction layer acquires an electrical charge as a result of the body's mechanical movements, such as when walking or running. This process converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, which is then used to charge the electronic device.
As a result, the friction electric nanogenerator (called EF-TENG) all-fiber composite layer can be used in the clothing manufacturing process, where the composite layer can be easily incorporated into ordinary fabrics to create clothing that generates electricity.
The friction electric nanogenerator material is not an entirely new technology. First successfully developed by academician Wang Zhonglin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2012, the material can collect and utilize the electricity generated by friction and static electricity from shaking hands, walking, tides, and so on.
However, traditional friction electric nanogenerator materials have some unpleasant properties, such as poor breathability. In addition, they are not very efficient at generating and delivering electricity.
To address these issues, the joint team improved the performance of friction electric nanogenerator materials based on related technical research, using silver nanowires as electrodes and electrospun polystyrene nanofibers as a charge storage layer, forming breathable antimicrobial electrodes and electrostatic induction-enhanced layers, which achieved better performance and improved breathability.
Additionally, the charge accumulated on the surface of the original friction electric nanogenerator material is slowly lost or dissipated, which reduces output performance and surface charge density. Stabilization of the surface charge density was achieved through improvements made by the joint team with the addition of a polystyrene membrane.
All-fiber composite nanogenerators made of electrostatically spun polyvinylidene fluoride/nylon, silver nanowires, and polystyrene can be easily integrated into regular clothing, allowing them to charge small electronic devices through daily movement. The team demonstrated the performance of their new high-tech textile by powering 126 LEDs. Still, the device lacks enough output to charge devices that need more power.
Dr. Hiroaki Sakamoto, one of the authors of the joint team's paper, said that because the new material formed in this study is softer and more breathable, its material properties mean that future possibilities for harvesting static electricity from clothing will have great potential when widely applied, even though the technology is currently only able to charge LEDs and small devices, such as calculators. huge potential.
An all-fibrous triboelectric nanogenerator with enhanced outputs depended on the polystyrene charge storage layer - (Nano Energy)