Development of a Stretchable Vibration-Powered Device Using a Liquid Electret
October 11, 2019 | NIMSEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
NIMS and AIST developed a liquid electret material capable of semi-permanently retaining static electricity. They subsequently combined this material with soft electrodes to create the first bendable, stretchable vibration-powered device in the world. Because this device is highly deformable and capable of converting very subtle vibrations into electrical signals, it may be applicable to the development of healthcare-devices, such as self-powered heartbeat and pulse sensors.
An electret material capable of semi-permanently retaining an electrical charge can generate voltage as its distance to the associated electrode changes. Because of this property, electret materials may be applicable to the development of vibration-powered (piezoelectric) devices and sensors capable of converting externally applied vibration and pressure into electrical signals. However, conventional electret materials are solid or in film form, and as such are inflexible and incapable of deformation into complex shapes, making them unsuitable for use in the development of wearable heartbeat and pulse sensors. A great deal of interest therefore exists in the development of bendable and stretchable vibration-powered devices that can be processed into a variety of shapes and used as such sensors.
This research group shielded porphyrin—an organic compound—with a flexible yet insulating structure (i.e., branched alkyl chains), thereby developing a liquid material at room temperature which is able to stably retain static charge on the porphyrin unit. The group subsequently developed a bendable and stretchable vibration-powered device. First, a high voltage was applied to this liquid material, thereby electrically charging it. The liquid material was then allowed to soak into a stretchable textile and the soaked textile was then sandwiched between soft, polyurethane electrodes integrated with silver-plated fibers as a wiring material. When the surface of the device is pressed with a fingertip, it generates a voltage in a range of ±100–200 mV and operates stably for at least 1.5 months.
In future research, the group hopes to achieve healthcare use of this device by enhancing the ability of the liquid electret material to retain static electricity and making modifications to the processing techniques applied to the device. The group will also pursue potential use of this vibration-powered device as a power source for IoT devices by combining it with a voltage-current conversion system and capacitor, etc.
This project was carried out by a research group led by Takashi Nakanishi (Group Leader, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, NIMS) and Manabu Yoshida (Team Leader, Sensing System Research Center, AIST). The project was funded by the JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (grant number: 18H03922) and the TIA collaborative research program "KAKEHASHI."
The newly developed liquid electret material (left) and the bendable and stretchable vibration-powered device (middle and right)
Suggested Items
Intel Takes Next Step Toward Building Scalable Silicon-Based Quantum Processors
05/02/2024 | BUSINESS WIRENature published an Intel research paper, “Probing single electrons across 300-mm spin qubit wafers,” demonstrating state-of-the-art uniformity, fidelity and measurement statistics of spin qubits.
Argonne, Toyota Collaborate on Cutting-Edge Battery Recycling Process
05/01/2024 | BUSINESS WIREThe U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has recently launched a collaboration with Toyota Motor North America that could reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign sources of battery materials.
Chinese Smartphone Market Maintains its Recovery Momentum at 6.5% Growth in 1Q24,
04/26/2024 | IDCAccording to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, China smartphone shipments grew 6.5% year over year (YoY) to 69.3 million units in 1Q24.
Boeing Opens Research & Technology Center in Japan
04/23/2024 | BoeingBoeing today opened a Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) Center in Japan that will focus on innovation to enable the commercial aviation industry meet its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide IT Spending to Grow 8% in 2024
04/17/2024 | Gartner, Inc.Worldwide IT spending is expected to total $5.06 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. This is an increase from the previous quarter’s forecast of 6.8% growth and puts worldwide IT spending on track to surpass $8 trillion well before the end of the decade.