1. 14:13 2nd Jul 2012

    Notes: 10

    Tags: TechTechnologyMaterialsWearablesMetamaterialsPiezoelectricsGadgetsSciencePower

    UC Berkeley Scientists Turn Cotton T-Shirt into Piezoelectric Device Charger The technique… started by soaking a regular cotton t-shirt a in a solution of fluoride. After dying it, the researchers examined the material with infrared spectroscopy and discovered that the cellulose of the cotton t-shirt had been converted into activated carbon. Not only had they made it into activated carbon, but also the t-shirt still maintained its flexibility and could be rolled and folded without breaking. While the activated carbon now could serve as a capacitor and store electrical charge, Li and post-doctoral associate Lihong Bao decided to take it a step further. They took the individual fibers from the treated t-shirt and coated them with “nanoflowers” of manganese oxide. The result was a “stable, high-performing supercapacitor,” said Li in the USC press release. “By stacking these supercapacitors up, we should be able to charge portable electronic devices such as cell phones.” (via Simple Process Turns T-Shirt into a Supercapacitor - IEEE Spectrum)

    UC Berkeley Scientists Turn Cotton T-Shirt into Piezoelectric Device Charger

    The technique… started by soaking a regular cotton t-shirt a in a solution of fluoride.

    After dying it, the researchers examined the material with infrared spectroscopy and discovered that the cellulose of the cotton t-shirt had been converted into activated carbon. Not only had they made it into activated carbon, but also the t-shirt still maintained its flexibility and could be rolled and folded without breaking.

    While the activated carbon now could serve as a capacitor and store electrical charge, Li and post-doctoral associate Lihong Bao decided to take it a step further. They took the individual fibers from the treated t-shirt and coated them with “nanoflowers” of manganese oxide. The result was a “stable, high-performing supercapacitor,” said Li in the USC press release. “By stacking these supercapacitors up, we should be able to charge portable electronic devices such as cell phones.”

    (via Simple Process Turns T-Shirt into a Supercapacitor - IEEE Spectrum)

     
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