Nanotechnology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters.
In a study published Jan. 26 in Nature Energy, UT Dallas researchers and their collaborators describe improvements to high-tech yarns they invented called “twistrons,” which generate electricity when stretched or twisted. Their new version is constructed much like traditional wool or cotton yarns.
Twistrons sewn into textiles can sense and harvest human motion; when deployed in salt water, twistrons can harvest energy from the movement of ocean waves; and twistrons can even charge supercapacitors.
First described by UTD researchers in a study published in 2017 in the journal Science, twistrons are constructed from carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which are hollow cylinders of carbon 10,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair. To make twistrons, the nanotubes are twist-spun into high-strength, lightweight fibers, or yarns, into which electrolytes can also be incorporated.
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Image: Twistrons, made from spun carbon nanotubes (CNTs), convert mechanical movement into electricity. Scanning electron microscope images show how UT Dallas researchers made a new kind of twistron by intertwining three individual strands of spun carbon nanotube fibers to make a single yarn, similar to the way conventional yarns used in textiles are constructed. A previous version of a harvester (right) was made by coiling the CNT fibers. The scale bars indicate 100 micrometers. (Credit: University of Texas at Dallas)