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A Fully Transient Mechanical Energy Harvester
Author(s) -
Muralidharan Nitin,
Afolabi Jeremiah,
Share Keith,
Li Mengya,
Pint Cary L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.201800083
Subject(s) - energy harvesting , mechanical energy , transient (computer programming) , power (physics) , materials science , energy (signal processing) , work (physics) , electrode , wearable computer , electrical engineering , acoustics , mechanical engineering , computer science , engineering , physics , embedded system , quantum mechanics , operating system
Abstract Here, a novel design of a mechanical energy harvester combining peak power output competitive with state‐of‐the‐art energy harvester devices is reported, but with a design enabling full transience, or dissolution, of the harvester after 30 min upon triggering in basic water. The harvester incorporates a symmetric cell combining Li x Al alloy electrodes and polyvinyl alcohol packaging that harvests mechanical energy due to the mechanical–electrochemical stress coupling between the electrodes. Prototype harvester devices demonstrate peak output power of 0.208 µW cm −2 with continuous energy generation up to 1.76 µJ cm −2 at a mechanical input frequency of 0.1 Hz. This work introduces a new class of power systems simultaneously tailored for transience, high‐performance energy harvesting, and operation frequency relevant to wearable technologies.