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Nano Research 2018, 11(8): 4313-4322 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2018-8
Research Article | Issue | Published: 13 March 2018

Flexible self-charging power units for portable electronics based on folded carbon paper

Show Author's Information Changjie Zhou1,§,  Yanqin Yang1,2,§,  Na Sun1,2,§,  Zhen Wen1,2( ),  Ping Cheng1,3,4,  Xinkai Xie1,  Huiyun Shao1,  Qingqing Shen1,  Xiaoping Chen1,2,  Yina Liu6,  Zhong Lin Wang3,4,5( ),  Xuhui Sun1( )
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM)Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devicesand Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and DevicesSoochow UniversitySuzhou215123China
Nantong Textile & Silk Industrial Technology Research InstituteJiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute of Textile & SilkNantong226314China
CAS Center for Excellence in NanoscienceBeijing Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Energy and SensorBeijing Institute of Nanoenergy and NanosystemsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100083China
School of Nanoscience and TechnologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100049China
School of Materials Science and EngineeringGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA30332-0245USA
Department of Mathematical SciencesXi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversitySuzhou215123China

§ Changjie Zhou, Yanqin Yang, and Na Sun contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
triboelectric nanogenerator, supercapacitor, stretchable, self-charging power unit, folded, carbon paper
Cite this article:
Zhou C, Yang Y, Sun N, et al. Flexible self-charging power units for portable electronics based on folded carbon paper. Nano Research, 2018, 11(8): 4313-4322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2018-8
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The urgent demand for portable electronics has promoted the development of high-efficiency, sustainable, and even stretchable self-charging power sources. In this work, we propose a flexible self-charging power unit based on folded carbon (FC) paper for harvesting mechanical energy from human motion and power portable electronics. The present unit mainly consists of a triboelectric nanogenerator (FC-TENG) and a supercapacitor (FC-SC), both based on folded carbon paper, as energy harvester and storage device, respectively. This favorable geometric design provides the high Young's modulus carbon paper with excellent stretchability and enables the power unit to work even under severe deformations, such as bending, twisting, and rolling. In addition, the tensile strain can be maximized by tuning the folding angle of the triangle-folded carbon paper. Moreover, the waterproof property of the packaged device make it washable, protect it from human sweat, and enable it to work in harsh environments. Finally, the as-prepared self-charging power unit was tested by placing it on the human body to harvest mechanical energy from hand tapping, foot treading, and arm touching, successfully powering an electronic watch. This work demonstrates the impressive potential of stretchable self-charging power units, which will further promote the development of high Young's modulus materials for wearable/portable electronics.


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Abstract
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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Flexible self-charging power units for portable electronics based on folded carbon paper

Show Author's information Changjie Zhou1,§, Yanqin Yang1,2,§, Na Sun1,2,§, Zhen Wen1,2( ), Ping Cheng1,3,4, Xinkai Xie1, Huiyun Shao1, Qingqing Shen1, Xiaoping Chen1,2, Yina Liu6, Zhong Lin Wang3,4,5( ), Xuhui Sun1( )
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM)Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devicesand Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and DevicesSoochow UniversitySuzhou215123China
Nantong Textile & Silk Industrial Technology Research InstituteJiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute of Textile & SilkNantong226314China
CAS Center for Excellence in NanoscienceBeijing Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Energy and SensorBeijing Institute of Nanoenergy and NanosystemsChinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100083China
School of Nanoscience and TechnologyUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing100049China
School of Materials Science and EngineeringGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA30332-0245USA
Department of Mathematical SciencesXi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversitySuzhou215123China

§ Changjie Zhou, Yanqin Yang, and Na Sun contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

The urgent demand for portable electronics has promoted the development of high-efficiency, sustainable, and even stretchable self-charging power sources. In this work, we propose a flexible self-charging power unit based on folded carbon (FC) paper for harvesting mechanical energy from human motion and power portable electronics. The present unit mainly consists of a triboelectric nanogenerator (FC-TENG) and a supercapacitor (FC-SC), both based on folded carbon paper, as energy harvester and storage device, respectively. This favorable geometric design provides the high Young's modulus carbon paper with excellent stretchability and enables the power unit to work even under severe deformations, such as bending, twisting, and rolling. In addition, the tensile strain can be maximized by tuning the folding angle of the triangle-folded carbon paper. Moreover, the waterproof property of the packaged device make it washable, protect it from human sweat, and enable it to work in harsh environments. Finally, the as-prepared self-charging power unit was tested by placing it on the human body to harvest mechanical energy from hand tapping, foot treading, and arm touching, successfully powering an electronic watch. This work demonstrates the impressive potential of stretchable self-charging power units, which will further promote the development of high Young's modulus materials for wearable/portable electronics.

Keywords: triboelectric nanogenerator, supercapacitor, stretchable, self-charging power unit, folded, carbon paper

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 04 December 2017
Revised: 01 February 2018
Accepted: 03 February 2018
Published: 13 March 2018
Issue date: August 2018

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1432249), the National Key R & D Project from Ministry of Science and Technology (No. 2016YFA0202704), the National Key R & D Program of China (No. 2017YFA0205002), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. This is also a project supported by Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science & Technology. Z. W. thanks the support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2017M610346), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (No. BK20170343) and Nantong Municipal Science and Technology Program. Y. N. L. thanks the support from Jiangsu University Natural Science Research Program (No. 16KJB110021). A patent has been filed based on the research results presented in this manuscript.

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