Nanotechnology

Outside the clothesline, on the grid: MXene nanomaterials enable wireless charging of textiles

Researchers at Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Accenture Research Institute have developed a process to print wirelessly rechargeable textile energy grids using MXene ink. Credit: Today’s Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2024.10.008

The next step for fully integrated textile-based electronics to get from the lab to the wardrobe is finding a way to power clothing gizmos without having to lug around ungainly solid-state batteries. Researchers at Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Accenture Research Institute in California have taken a new approach to this challenge by building a wirelessly rechargeable all-fiber energy grid. In a recent study, researchers reported that it could power textile devices such as warming elements and environmental sensors that transmit data in real time.

The paper, published in the journal Materials Today, describes the process and realization of building the grid by printing on nonwoven cotton fabric using an ink composed of MXene, a type of nanomaterial made by Drexel. It explains the possibilities. MXene is also highly conductive and sufficiently durable. This is to ensure that the garment can withstand the folding, stretching, and washing that it endures.

This proof of concept represents a significant development in wearable technology, but is currently limited by the use of rigid, bulky batteries that require complex wiring and are not fully integrated into clothing.

“These bulky energy supplies typically require non-ideally rigid components for two main reasons,” said study leader Yuri Bach, Distinguished University Professor at Drexel Institute of Technology. Dr. Gogotsi said.

“First, they are uncomfortable and cumbersome for the wearer, and over time they tend to fail at the interface between hard electronics and soft fabrics. An issue that is particularly difficult to address for electronic fabrics is washability. It’s a problem.”

In contrast, the team’s proposed textile grid was printed on a lightweight, flexible cotton substrate with small patch sizes. It contains a printed resonant coil called an MX coil, which converts electromagnetic waves into energy and enables wireless charging. And a series of three textile supercapacitors previously developed by Drexel and Accenture Research Institute can be used to store energy and power electronic devices.

The grid could wirelessly charge at 3.6 volts, enough to power not only wearable sensors but also digital circuitry in computers and small devices such as watches and calculators. Just 15 minutes of charging produced enough energy to power a small device for over 90 minutes. It also showed little loss in performance after extensive bending and washing cycles to simulate the wear and tear experienced on clothing.

In addition to testing the grid with miniature electronics, University of Pennsylvania collaborators led by Dr. Flavia Vitale, associate professor of neurology, demonstrated that they can also power wireless MXene-based biosensor electrodes called MXtrodes. did. Muscle movements can be monitored.

Outside the clothesline, on the grid: MXene nanomaterials enable wireless charging of textiles

a) Schematic diagram showing different possible applications and the need for power on the garment. b) Schematic diagram showing our solution. Integrate MXene-based wireless charging with MXene traces and MXene bond lines with applications and MXene-textile supercapacitors. Credit: Today’s Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2024.10.008

“Besides on-clothing applications that require energy storage, we have also demonstrated use cases that do not require energy storage,” said Dr. said co-author Dr. Alex Inman. Gogotsi’s research assistant at the AJ Drexel Nanomaterials Institute.

“Situations with relatively sedentary users, such as infants in cribs or patients in hospital beds, will enable direct power applications such as wireless power movement and continuous monitoring of vital signs. .”

In this vein, they also used this system to power an array of off-the-shelf temperature and humidity sensors and a microcontroller to broadcast the collected data in real time. After 30 minutes of wireless charging, I was able to run real-time broadcasts from the sensor for 13 minutes, a relatively energy-intensive feature.

And finally, the team used the MX coil to power a heating element printed on the fabric, called a Joule heater, resulting in a temperature increase of about 4 degrees Celsius as a proof of concept.

“Many different technologies could be powered by wireless charging. The main thing to consider when choosing an application is that it needs to make sense as a wearable application,” Gogotzi says Mr. “This is the future of healthcare, so we tend to think of biosensors as a very attractive application. Biosensors can be integrated directly into textiles, which increases the quality and fidelity of the data and allows users to improves comfort.

“However, our research shows that fiber-based power grids can be used in a variety of applications, including fiber-based LEDs for fashion and work safety, wearable haptics for AR/VR applications such as work training and entertainment, and stand-alone We know it has the potential to power any peripherals, including controlling external electronics – a standalone controller may not be desirable.”

Next steps to develop this technology include showing how the system can be scaled up without reducing its performance or limiting its ability to be integrated into textiles. . Gogotsi and Inman predict that MXene materials will hold the key to converting various technologies into textile form. Not only can MXene inks be applied to most common textile substrates, but a number of MXene-based devices have also been demonstrated as proof-of-concept.

“We’re generating enough power from wireless charging to power a variety of applications, so the next step is integration,” Inman said. “One of the big ways that MXene helps with this is that it can be used for many of these functions (e.g. conductive traces, antennas, sensors) and eliminates concerns about material mismatches that can cause electrical or mechanical failures. There’s no need to do that.”

More information: Alex Inman et al, MXene-enabled fiber-based energy grid with wireless charging, Materials Today (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2024.10.008

Provided by Drexel University

Citation: Outside the clothesline, on the grid: MXene nanomaterials enable wireless charging of textiles (October 31, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-10-clothesline-grid-mxene-nanomaterials – Retrieved November 2, 2024 from enable.html

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