Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed wearable technology that generates and captures electricity while increasing comfort
By NAREN KRISHNA JEGAN — science@theaggie.org
Most of us have heard of fast fashion, which is a business model where companies rapidly produce and sell current and trendy clothes. But have you heard of smart fashion?
Smart fashion is an intersection between fashion and technology, where clothing and textiles are incorporated with technology to enhance the user’s everyday life. From measuring heart rate, body temperature and muscle tension, sources project the field of smart fashion to rapidly grow to a $21-billion industry. As more time passes, the market will evolve to include more sophisticated functionalities.
With the emergence of wearable, electricity-generating materials from North Carolina State University (NCSU), these complex features may be arriving sooner than expected. Researchers from NCSU have focused on developing models showing how a certain class of molecules (amphiphiles) affects the surface friction of various materials.
Amphiphiles are molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic components. These molecules are used for a variety of therapeutic applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and nerve regeneration. More commonly, they are seen in household and consumer products such as soaps, detergents and diapers to prevent scratching or scarring from materials.
INVISTA professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NCSU, Saad Khan, shared his group’s research interests.
“We wanted to know if we could create energy from friction in amphiphile-modified materials,” Khan said. “It turns out we could not only generate electricity, but we could do so while also reducing the friction that people wearing these materials experience.”
The researchers discovered that some amphiphiles have electron-donating properties, allowing for the flow of electrons and a current. Applying these amphiphiles to wearable clothes, the researchers created a novel material that was low-friction, comfortable and had a powerful electrical yield of 300 volts.
Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Lilian Hsiao noted some of the limitations of these devices.
“The technology for harvesting static energy is well established,” Hsiao said. “Devices that can be worn for long periods of time are still missing.”
With further research, the group is interested in exploring how to incorporate subsequent innovations in these materials with existing haptic devices. They also are interested in partnering with others in similar fields — these amphiphiles have shown great promise when applied to clothing production, and there are many other industries that may utilize this technology in the future.
