Washable, wearable ‘batteries’: based on cheap, safe and environmentally-friendly inks and woven directly into fabrics, have been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge.
Turning textiles into functional energy storage elements can open up an entirely new set of applications
Felice Torrisi
Wearable electronic components incorporated directly into fabrics have been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. The devices could be used for flexible circuits, healthcare monitoring, energy conversion, and other applications.
The Cambridge researchers, working in collaboration with colleagues at Jiangnan University in China, have shown how graphene – a two-dimensional form of carbon – and other related materials can be directly incorporated into fabrics to produce charge storage elements such as capacitors, paving the way to textile-based power supplies which are washable, flexible and comfortable to wear.
The research, published in the journal Nanoscale, demonstrates that graphene inks can be used in textiles able to store electrical charge and release it when required. The new textile electronic devices are based on low-cost, sustainable and scalable dyeing of polyester fabric. The inks are produced by standard solution processing techniques.
Building on previous work by the same team, the researchers designed inks which can be directly coated onto a polyester fabric in a simple dyeing process. The versatility of the process allows various types of electronic components to be incorporated into the fabric.
Most other wearable electronics rely on rigid electronic components mounted on plastic or textiles. These offer limited compatibility with the skin in many circumstances, are damaged when washed and are uncomfortable to wear because they are not breathable.
“Other techniques to incorporate electronic components directly into textiles are expensive to produce and usually require toxic solvents, which makes them unsuitable to be worn,” said Dr Felice Torrisi from the Cambridge Graphene Centre, and the paper’s corresponding author. “Our inks are cheap, safe and environmentally-friendly, and can be combined to create electronic circuits by simply overlaying different fabrics made of two-dimensional materials on the fabric.”
The researchers suspended individual graphene sheets in a low boiling point solvent, which is easily removed after deposition on the fabric, resulting in a thin and uniform conducting network made up of multiple graphene sheets. The subsequent overlay of several graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) fabrics creates an active region, which enables charge storage. This sort of ‘battery’ on fabric is bendable and can withstand washing cycles in a normal washing machine.
“Textile dyeing has been around for centuries using simple pigments, but our result demonstrates for the first time that inks based on graphene and related materials can be used to produce textiles that could store and release energy,” said co-author Professor Chaoxia Wang from Jiangnan University in China. “Our process is scalable and there are no fundamental obstacles to the technological development of wearable electronic devices both in terms of their complexity and performance.”
The work done by the Cambridge researchers opens a number of commercial opportunities for ink based on two-dimensional materials, ranging from personal health and well-being technology, to wearable energy and data storage, military garments, wearable computing and fashion.
“Turning textiles into functional energy storage elements can open up an entirely new set of applications, from body-energy harvesting and storage to the Internet of Things,” said Torrisi “In the future our clothes could incorporate these textile-based charge storage elements and power wearable textile devices.”
Learn more: Washable, wearable battery-like devices could be woven directly into clothes
The Latest on: Wearable textile devices
[google_news title=”” keyword=”wearable textile devices” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Wearable textile devices
- Battery Cyclers Market worth $1,609 million by 2029 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™on April 30, 2024 at 7:01 am
The global battery cyclers market size is projected to grow from USD 794 million in 2024 to USD 1,609 million by 2029 at CAGR of 15.2% during the forecast period according to a new report by ...
- Nanoprinting turns textiles into multipurpose health monitoring deviceson April 29, 2024 at 5:00 pm
all while maintaining the flexibility and breathability that make textiles so well-suited for wearable applications. To demonstrate the potential of their nanotransfer printing approach, the ...
- E-Textile Market Size to Grow USD 5238.3 Million by 2029 at a CAGR of 8% | Valuates Reportson April 26, 2024 at 10:13 am
E-Textile Market is Segmented by Type (Passive Electronic Textiles, Active Electronic Textiles, Ultra-Electronic Textiles), by Application (Military Uses, Civil Uses, Healthcare Uses).
- From Runway to Retail: How Technology is Revolutionizing Fashionon April 24, 2024 at 9:34 am
Step into the world where innovation meets style, where high fashion seamlessly integrates with cutting-edge technology. Join us as we explore how the fusion of runway and retail is transforming the ...
- Wearable Material Market to Reach $7.4 billion, Globally, by 2032 at 12.2% CAGR: Allied Market Researchon April 23, 2024 at 1:22 am
The consumer electronics segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period.
- Our Favorite Sustainable Brands to Add to Your Wardrobeon April 22, 2024 at 8:59 am
Our guide to the best sustainable and ethical fashion brands to shop—so you can look good with a clear conscience—from Stella McCartney to Gabriela Hearst.
- A Decade of Innovation: 10 Game-Changing Sports Technologies Unveiledon April 19, 2024 at 8:30 am
In the fast-paced world of sports, innovation is the name of the game. Over the past decade, technology has revolutionized the way athletes train, compete, and recover. From advanced equipment to ...
- Smart Wearables Market Projections Point to USD 383.5 Billion by 2032on April 19, 2024 at 7:15 am
IntroductionThe Smart Wearables Market is anticipated to experience robust growth, with projections indicating it could reach a value of USD 383.50 Billion by 2032, showcasing a remarkable Compound ...
- Machine learning used to create a fabric-based touch sensoron April 18, 2024 at 3:53 pm
A new fabric-based touch sensor used machine learning to control mobile apps, video games and other devices while integrated into clothing.
- Threads to tech: Researchers play video game with just a piece of fabricon April 18, 2024 at 6:34 am
A s wearable technology becomes increasingly in demand, so have smart textiles. NC State researchers just took smart fabrics to a whole new level of sophistication—they played a video game with a tiny ...
via Bing News