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

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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.

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Author notes

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

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, and Joint International Research Laboratory of Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Changjie Zhou, Yanqin Yang, Na Sun, Zhen Wen, Ping Cheng, Xinkai Xie, Huiyun Shao, Qingqing Shen, Xiaoping Chen & Xuhui Sun

  2. Nantong Textile & Silk Industrial Technology Research Institute, Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute of Textile & Silk, Nantong, 226314, China

    Yanqin Yang, Na Sun, Zhen Wen & Xiaoping Chen

  3. CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro-nano Energy and Sensor, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Ping Cheng & Zhong Lin Wang

  4. School of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ping Cheng & Zhong Lin Wang

  5. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0245, USA

    Zhong Lin Wang

  6. Department of Mathematical Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Yina Liu

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  1. Changjie Zhou
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  2. Yanqin Yang
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  3. Na Sun
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  4. Zhen Wen
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  11. Zhong Lin Wang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhen Wen, Zhong Lin Wang or Xuhui Sun.

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

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Zhou, C., Yang, Y., Sun, N. et al. Flexible self-charging power units for portable electronics based on folded carbon paper. Nano Res. 11, 4313–4322 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2018-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2018-8

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