Harvesting electrical energy from carbon nanotube yarn twist

Making the most of twists and turns The rise of small-scale, portable electronics and wearable devices has boosted the desire for ways to harvest energy from mechanical motion. Such approaches could be used to provide battery-free power with a small footprint. Kim et al. present an energy harvester made from carbon nanotube yarn that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy from both torsional and tensile motion. Their findings reveal how the extent of yarn twisting and the combination of homochiral and heterochiral coiled yarns can maximize energy generation. Science, this issue p. 773 Twisted and coiled carbon nanotubes can harvest electrical energy from mechanical motion. Mechanical energy harvesters are needed for diverse applications, including self-powered wireless sensors, structural and human health monitoring systems, and the extraction of energy from ocean waves. We report carbon nanotube yarn harvesters that electrochemically convert tensile or torsional mechanical energy into electrical energy without requiring an external bias voltage. Stretching coiled yarns generated 250 watts per kilogram of peak electrical power when cycled up to 30 hertz, as well as up to 41.2 joules per kilogram of electrical energy per mechanical cycle, when normalized to harvester yarn weight. These energy harvesters were used in the ocean to harvest wave energy, combined with thermally driven artificial muscles to convert temperature fluctuations to electrical energy, sewn into textiles for use as self-powered respiration sensors, and used to power a light-emitting diode and to charge a storage capacitor.

[1]  Iain A. Anderson,et al.  An integrated, self-priming dielectric elastomer generator , 2010 .

[2]  Yonggang Huang,et al.  High performance piezoelectric devices based on aligned arrays of nanofibers of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) , 2013, Nature Communications.

[3]  C. Jean-Mistral,et al.  Advances for dielectric elastomer generators: Replacement of high voltage supply by electret , 2012 .

[4]  Ghislain Despesse,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of high damping electrostatic micro devices for vibration energy scavenging , 2005 .

[5]  Ernest Yeager,et al.  Differential Capacitance Study on the Basal Plane of Stress-Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite , 1972 .

[6]  Steve Plimpton,et al.  Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics , 1993 .

[7]  Jiangxue Wang,et al.  Implantable Self-Powered Low-Level Laser Cure System for Mouse Embryonic Osteoblasts' Proliferation and Differentiation. , 2015, ACS nano.

[8]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Integrated multilayered triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting biomechanical energy from human motions. , 2013, ACS nano.

[9]  C. Jean-Mistral,et al.  Electrets substituting external bias voltage in dielectric elastomer generators: application to human motion , 2013 .

[10]  Seok-Jin Yoon,et al.  High Output Piezo/Triboelectric Hybrid Generator , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[11]  Emmanuel Flahaut,et al.  The weight and density of carbon nanotubes versus the number of walls and diameter , 2010 .

[12]  Na Li,et al.  New twist on artificial muscles , 2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[13]  Marek Kosmulski,et al.  pH-dependent surface charging and points of zero charge. IV. Update and new approach. , 2009, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[14]  Ron Pelrine,et al.  Dielectric elastomers: generator mode fundamentals and applications , 2001, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[15]  Carter S. Haines,et al.  Biscrolling Nanotube Sheets and Functional Guests into Yarns , 2011, Science.

[16]  K. R. Atkinson,et al.  Multifunctional Carbon Nanotube Yarns by Downsizing an Ancient Technology , 2004, Science.

[17]  N. Nakashima,et al.  Experimentally determined redox potentials of individual (n,m) single-walled carbon nanotubes. , 2009, Angewandte Chemie.

[18]  Shashank Priya,et al.  Two-dimensional concentrated-stress low-frequency piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters , 2015 .

[19]  E. Mccafferty.  Relationship between the isoelectric point (phpzc) and the potential of zero charge (Epzc) for passive metals , 2010 .

[20]  S. Beeby,et al.  Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting , 2009 .

[21]  Fengru Fan,et al.  Theoretical Comparison, Equivalent Transformation, and Conjunction Operations of Electromagnetic Induction Generator and Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Mechanical Energy , 2014, Advanced materials.

[22]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  A universal self-charging system driven by random biomechanical energy for sustainable operation of mobile electronics , 2015, Nature Communications.

[23]  P. Taberna,et al.  Anomalous Increase in Carbon Capacitance at Pore Sizes Less Than 1 Nanometer , 2006, Science.

[24]  Shankar Ghosh,et al.  Carbon Nanotube Flow Sensors , 2003, Science.

[25]  Wanlin Guo,et al.  Generating electricity by moving a droplet of ionic liquid along graphene. , 2014, Nature nanotechnology.

[26]  Daniel J. Inman,et al.  Estimation of Electric Charge Output for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting , 2004 .

[27]  Y. Naruse,et al.  Electrostatic micro power generation from low-frequency vibration such as human motion , 2009 .

[28]  Young Hun Jeong,et al.  Performance of unimorph cantilever generator using Cr/Nb doped Pb(Zr0.54Ti0.46)O3 thick film for energy harvesting device applications , 2013 .

[29]  Ray H. Baughman,et al.  Catalytic Twist‐Spun Yarns of Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanotubes , 2012 .

[30]  I. Kinloch,et al.  High Performance Fibres from ‘Dog Bone’ Carbon Nanotubes , 2007 .

[31]  Long Lin,et al.  A Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting from a Rotating Tire and its Application as a Self‐Powered Pressure/Speed Sensor , 2011, Advanced materials.

[32]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Flexible triboelectric generator , 2012 .

[33]  Mark J. Dyer,et al.  Structure and mechanical flexibility of carbon nanotube ribbons: An atomic-force microscopy study , 2001 .

[34]  E. Yeager,et al.  Differential Capacitance Study of Stress‐Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite Electrodes , 1971 .

[35]  Dong Sam Ha,et al.  A Review on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting: Materials, Methods, and Circuits , 2017 .

[36]  Ray H. Baughman,et al.  Harvesting Temperature Fluctuations as Electrical Energy Using Torsional and Tensile Polymer Muscles , 2015 .

[37]  Carter S. Haines,et al.  Electrically, Chemically, and Photonically Powered Torsional and Tensile Actuation of Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Yarn Muscles , 2012, Science.

[38]  Eunkyoung Kim,et al.  Flexible PEDOT electrodes with large thermoelectric power factors to generate electricity by the touch of fingertips , 2013 .

[39]  H. Kawata,et al.  A program for calculation of the proton activity coefficient. , 1994, Computers in biology and medicine.

[40]  Carter S. Haines,et al.  Artificial Muscles from Fishing Line and Sewing Thread , 2014, Science.

[41]  Fei Wang,et al.  Modeling and Optimization of an Electrostatic Energy Harvesting Device , 2014, Journal of microelectromechanical systems.

[42]  Seung‐Yeol Jeon,et al.  A predictive model of the tensile strength of twisted carbon nanotube yarns , 2017, Nanotechnology.

[43]  Fei Wang,et al.  An electret-based energy harvesting device with a wafer-level fabrication process , 2013 .

[44]  M. Lima,et al.  Efficient, Absorption-Powered Artificial Muscles Based on Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Yarns. , 2015, Small.

[45]  Geon-Tae Hwang,et al.  Self‐Powered Wireless Sensor Node Enabled by an Aerosol‐Deposited PZT Flexible Energy Harvester , 2016 .

[46]  Jin S. Heo,et al.  Structure-performance relationships for cantilever-type piezoelectric energy harvesters , 2014 .

[47]  S. Boisseau,et al.  Cantilever-based electret energy harvesters , 2011 .

[48]  Hyuk Kyu Pak,et al.  Electrical power generation by mechanically modulating electrical double layers , 2012, Nature Communications.

[49]  Samuel Rosset,et al.  Dielectric elastomer generators that stack up , 2014 .

[50]  D. Clarke,et al.  Optimizing the Electrical Energy Conversion Cycle of Dielectric Elastomer Generators , 2014, Advanced materials.

[51]  Mei Zhang,et al.  Carbon Nanotube Yarns as High Load Actuators and Sensors , 2008 .

[52]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Finger typing driven triboelectric nanogenerator and its use for instantaneously lighting up LEDs , 2013 .

[53]  T. Krupenkin,et al.  Reverse electrowetting as a new approach to high-power energy harvesting , 2011, Nature communications.

[54]  Sangtae Kim,et al.  Electrochemically driven mechanical energy harvesting , 2016, Nature Communications.

[55]  Myeong-Lok Seol,et al.  High-performance nanopattern triboelectric generator by block copolymer lithography , 2015 .

[56]  Yalin Lu,et al.  Capacitance of carbon-based electrical double-layer capacitors , 2014, Nature Communications.

[57]  T. Baumann,et al.  Electrocapillary maximum and potential of zero charge of carbon aerogel. , 2010, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[58]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Piezoelectric Nanogenerators Based on Zinc Oxide Nanowire Arrays , 2006, Science.

[59]  Wendi Heinzelman,et al.  Energy-efficient communication protocol for wireless microsensor networks , 2000, Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[60]  M. Robbins,et al.  AIREBO-M: a reactive model for hydrocarbons at extreme pressures. , 2015, The Journal of chemical physics.

[61]  R. Pelrine,et al.  Electric Power from Artificial Muscles , 2008, OCEANS 2008 - MTS/IEEE Kobe Techno-Ocean.

[62]  Ray H. Baughman,et al.  Electrochemical Properties of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Electrodes , 2003 .

[63]  M. Porfiri,et al.  Energy harvesting from base excitation of ionic polymer metal composites in fluid environments , 2009 .

[64]  Yunlong Zi,et al.  Harvesting Low-Frequency (<5 Hz) Irregular Mechanical Energy: A Possible Killer Application of Triboelectric Nanogenerator. , 2016, ACS nano.

[65]  G. Zhu,et al.  A Shape‐Adaptive Thin‐Film‐Based Approach for 50% High‐Efficiency Energy Generation Through Micro‐Grating Sliding Electrification , 2014, Advanced materials.

[66]  Chang Kyu Jeong,et al.  Self‐Powered Cardiac Pacemaker Enabled by Flexible Single Crystalline PMN‐PT Piezoelectric Energy Harvester , 2014, Advanced materials.

[67]  K. R. Atkinson,et al.  Strong, Transparent, Multifunctional, Carbon Nanotube Sheets , 2005, Science.

[68]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Piezoelectricity of single-atomic-layer MoS2 for energy conversion and piezotronics , 2014, Nature.

[69]  Z. Suo,et al.  Maximizing the Energy Density of Dielectric Elastomer Generators Using Equi‐Biaxial Loading , 2013 .

[70]  L. Dai,et al.  Multiwalled carbon nanotubes for flow-induced voltage generation , 2007 .

[71]  Huisheng Peng,et al.  Hierarchically arranged helical fibre actuators driven by solvents and vapours. , 2015, Nature nanotechnology.

[72]  Ron Pelrine,et al.  Innovative power generators for energy harvesting using electroactive polymer artificial muscles , 2008, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[73]  Geon-Tae Hwang,et al.  Large‐Area and Flexible Lead‐Free Nanocomposite Generator Using Alkaline Niobate Particles and Metal Nanorod Filler , 2014 .