Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film

In this paper, a flexible and stretchable energy harvester based on liquid-metal and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) electret films is proposed and implemented for the application of wearable devices. A gallium liquid-metal alloy with a melting point of 25.0 °C is used to form the stre...

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Main Authors: Jianbing Xie, Yiwei Wang, Rong Dong, Kai Tao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/458
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author Jianbing Xie
Yiwei Wang
Rong Dong
Kai Tao
author_facet Jianbing Xie
Yiwei Wang
Rong Dong
Kai Tao
author_sort Jianbing Xie
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, a flexible and stretchable energy harvester based on liquid-metal and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) electret films is proposed and implemented for the application of wearable devices. A gallium liquid-metal alloy with a melting point of 25.0 °C is used to form the stretchable electrode; therefore, the inducted energy harvester will have excellent flexibility and stretchability. The solid-state electrode is wrapped in a dragon-skin silicone rubber shell and then bonded with FEP electret film and conductive film to form a flexible and stretchable energy harvester. Then, the open-circuit voltage of the designed energy harvester is tested and analyzed. Finally, the fabricated energy harvester is mounted on the elbow of a human body to harvest the energy produced by the bending of the elbow. The experimental results show that the flexible and stretchable energy harvester can adapt well to elbow bending and convert elbow motion into electric energy to light the LED in a wearable watch.
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spelling doaj.art-3460dc55d5ae403c9f512b1cf6e8b4a42022-12-22T04:20:12ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-01-0120245810.3390/s20020458s20020458Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret FilmJianbing Xie0Yiwei Wang1Rong Dong2Kai Tao3Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaKey Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaSchool of Mechatronic Engineering, Xi’an Technological University, Xi’an 710021, ChinaKey Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, ChinaIn this paper, a flexible and stretchable energy harvester based on liquid-metal and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) electret films is proposed and implemented for the application of wearable devices. A gallium liquid-metal alloy with a melting point of 25.0 °C is used to form the stretchable electrode; therefore, the inducted energy harvester will have excellent flexibility and stretchability. The solid-state electrode is wrapped in a dragon-skin silicone rubber shell and then bonded with FEP electret film and conductive film to form a flexible and stretchable energy harvester. Then, the open-circuit voltage of the designed energy harvester is tested and analyzed. Finally, the fabricated energy harvester is mounted on the elbow of a human body to harvest the energy produced by the bending of the elbow. The experimental results show that the flexible and stretchable energy harvester can adapt well to elbow bending and convert elbow motion into electric energy to light the LED in a wearable watch.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/458flexible and stretchable electronicsenergy harvesterliquid-metalwearable deviceelectret
spellingShingle Jianbing Xie
Yiwei Wang
Rong Dong
Kai Tao
Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
Sensors
flexible and stretchable electronics
energy harvester
liquid-metal
wearable device
electret
title Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
title_full Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
title_fullStr Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
title_full_unstemmed Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
title_short Wearable Device Oriented Flexible and Stretchable Energy Harvester Based on Embedded Liquid-Metal Electrodes and FEP Electret Film
title_sort wearable device oriented flexible and stretchable energy harvester based on embedded liquid metal electrodes and fep electret film
topic flexible and stretchable electronics
energy harvester
liquid-metal
wearable device
electret
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/2/458
work_keys_str_mv AT jianbingxie wearabledeviceorientedflexibleandstretchableenergyharvesterbasedonembeddedliquidmetalelectrodesandfepelectretfilm
AT yiweiwang wearabledeviceorientedflexibleandstretchableenergyharvesterbasedonembeddedliquidmetalelectrodesandfepelectretfilm
AT rongdong wearabledeviceorientedflexibleandstretchableenergyharvesterbasedonembeddedliquidmetalelectrodesandfepelectretfilm
AT kaitao wearabledeviceorientedflexibleandstretchableenergyharvesterbasedonembeddedliquidmetalelectrodesandfepelectretfilm