A team of researchers led by Prof. Jang Kyung-In from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at DGIST has made an exciting breakthrough in wearable energy technology.
They have developed a stretchable energy-harvesting device that can generate electricity from body movements.
This innovative device is small enough to attach to the skin or clothing, making it a promising step forward for wearable technology.
The research, published in the journal ACS Nano, focuses on a piezoelectric energy harvester.
Piezoelectric devices generate electricity by converting mechanical movements, like the bending of joints or the stretching of skin, into electrical energy.
This differs from triboelectric harvesters, which use static electricity to produce power.
Many existing piezoelectric devices use materials like organic or composite piezoelectric substances. While these materials are flexible, they have low energy efficiency, meaning they don’t generate enough power from body movements to be practical.
This has been a major limitation for wearable energy harvesters.
Prof. Jang’s team overcame this challenge by using a material called lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which has excellent piezoelectric properties.
The catch?
PZT is usually hard and brittle, making it difficult to use in flexible devices. The team tackled this problem by creating a three-dimensional structure for PZT, allowing it to maintain high energy efficiency while also being stretchable.
The team also introduced a clever design for the electrodes—the parts of the device that collect the electrical energy.
They divided the electrodes into sections using a unique “curvature-specific coupling” technique. This prevented energy loss when the device bent or stretched, ensuring maximum efficiency.
Thanks to these innovations, the new device achieves an energy efficiency that is 280 times higher than conventional stretchable piezoelectric harvesters. This makes it one of the most efficient energy harvesters of its kind.
“Creating a highly efficient and stretchable energy harvester is a significant milestone,” said Prof. Jang. “We believe this technology has great potential for commercialization and could lead to practical, wearable energy solutions in the future.”
The device opens up exciting possibilities for powering wearable gadgets, like health monitors, without relying on batteries. As technology continues to advance, devices like these could help reduce our reliance on traditional energy sources and make wearable tech more sustainable and convenient.
This breakthrough marks a major step forward in combining advanced materials with smart designs to create practical, everyday technology. The future of wearable energy harvesters just got a lot brighter!
Source: KSR.
