Materials generate power from wearer’s movement

Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) have created new wearable technologies that generate electricity from the wearer’s movement.

The researchers’ work was based on amphiphiles, or molecules often used in consumer products to reduce friction against human skin. They tested how different amphiphiles affect the surface friction of materials and found that the amphiphile-modified materials could generate up to 300 volts of electricity from friction. Not only that, but the materials were comfortable against the skin.

“We’re interested in doing more to make use of these materials, such as exploring how they can be incorporated into existing haptic devices. And we’re open to working with industry partners on identifying new applications,” says Saad Khan, Ph.D., co-corresponding author of the study and INVISTA professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State.

This research was published Jan. 15 in the journal Science Advances.

The Nonwovens Institute, the National Science Foundation, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Dreyfus Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute supported this research.