Energy-harvesting materials for smart fabrics and textiles
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ntroduction Energy harvesting is the conversion of ambient energy into electrical energy for use in powering autonomous electronic devices or circuits. Energy can be harvested from mechanical sources (e.g., strain, displacements), thermal gradients, or incident light (photovoltaics). While numerous examples of such energy harvesters exist, incorporating the required materials into a textile presents unique challenges, in terms of both fabrication and implementation. This article discusses energyharvesting materials that can be combined with textiles to enable the textile itself to act as the energy harvester. Energy-harvesting textiles can be achieved by adding active materials as films on the surface of the textile, or as yarns that are woven or embroidered into the textile. The film approach enables low-cost printing processes to be used. This has the advantages of being familiar to the textile industry and can be used to deposit the material across large areas. It also enables the energy-harvesting ability to be added to a wide range of otherwise standard textiles. The disadvantages of this approach derive from processing challenges and constraints the textile places on the functional materials.
Processing temperatures are limited to around 150°C, and the otherwise rough and “fluffy” surface requires the textile to be planarized with an interface layer.1 The printed films change the feel of the textile, and the printed area needs to be minimized to reduce this effect. Active yarns, however, can be fabricated separately and then woven into the textile, typically alongside standard textile yarns. This approach places fewer constraints on functional materials, but their positioning in the textile is limited to the warp and weft directions of the textile. The warp and weft of the fabric relate to the weave structure; yarns in the warp direction are held in tension longitudinally, and the weft yarns are drawn perpendicular to the warp, weaving over and under the warp yarns. The mechanical properties of the active yarns may also affect the feel of the textile, and they must be sufficiently robust to withstand the weaving, knitting, or embroidery process. Textile energy harvesting can potentially be used as an alternative to batteries, which contain a finite amount of energy and require periodic replacement or recharging. In wearable textile applications, batteries are rigid bulky items that must be removed before washing. The development of
Russel Torah, Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK; [email protected] Jake Lawrie-Ashton, Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK; [email protected] Yi Li, Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK; [email protected] Sasikumar Arumugam, Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK; [email protected] Henry A. Sodano, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Macromolecular Sc
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