Work

Gastric fold-inspired microwrinkled carbon nanotube sheets for harvesting mechanical energy of organ motion

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Biomechanical energy from daily activities and organ motion is an attractive energy source because of its sustainability. Mechanical energy harvesters, including triboelectric, piezoelectric, and chemo-mechanical harvesters, are gaining significant attention for converting energy into electrical power for self-powered devices. Chemo-mechanical energy harvesters that utilize the piezoionic effect are particularly suited for harnessing the movements of organs, such as the heart, stomach, and lungs, in the electrolyte-rich environment of the human body. However, existing harvesters are inefficient because of their unidirectional response and high modulus, which hinder organ motion. In this paper, we propose a microwrinkled carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets harvester (MCSH), inspired by the gastric wrinkle morphology and featuring a low modulus (43.9 kPa), capable of multidirectional energy harvesting. The MCSH generates energy through the relaxoionic effect during unfolding and folding cycles, achieving an open-circuit voltage change of 11.6 mV and a peak current of 112.5 A kg −1 in 0.1 M HCl. Finally, the MCSH demonstrated stable energy generation in a human stomach model using simulated body fluids.

Source: Carbon

DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2024.119869