Nanomaterials

Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging

14 February 2008

A new paper details how pairs of textile fibers covered with zinc oxide nanowires can generate electrical current using the piezoelectric effect. Combining current flow from many fiber pairs woven into a shirt or jacket could allow the wearer’s body movement to power a range of portable electronic devices. The fibers could also be woven into curtains, tents or other structures to capture energy from wind motion, sound vibration or other mechanical energy. The nanogenerators take advantage of the unique coupled piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of zinc oxide nanostructures, which produce small electrical charges when they are flexed. The original nanogenerators developed by the group – which are two by three millimeters square – can produce up to 800 nanoamperes and 20 millivolts.

This work was published in Nature, 451, 809-813 (14 February 2008).