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Energy Harvesting and Storage with Soft and Stretchable Materials
Author(s) -
Vallem Veenasri,
Sargolzaeiaval Yasaman,
Ozturk Mehmet,
Lai YingChih,
Dickey Michael D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.202004832
Subject(s) - soft robotics , wearable computer , energy harvesting , electronics , materials science , wearable technology , robotics , soft materials , electricity , mechanical energy , nanotechnology , mechanical engineering , energy storage , energy (signal processing) , computer science , robot , electrical engineering , artificial intelligence , engineering , physics , embedded system , power (physics) , quantum mechanics
This review highlights various modes of converting ambient sources of energy into electricity using soft and stretchable materials. These mechanical properties are useful for emerging classes of stretchable electronics, e‐skins, bio‐integrated wearables, and soft robotics. The ability to harness energy from the environment allows these types of devices to be tetherless, thereby leading to a greater range of motion (in the case of robotics), better compliance (in the case of wearables and e‐skins), and increased application space (in the case of electronics). A variety of energy sources are available including mechanical (vibrations, human motion, wind/fluid motion), electromagnetic (radio frequency (RF), solar), and thermodynamic (chemical or thermal energy). This review briefly summarizes harvesting mechanisms and focuses on the materials’ strategies to render such devices into soft or stretchable embodiments.