Nanotechnology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters.
In a study published Jan. 26 in Nature Energy, UT Dallas researchers and their collaborators describe improvements to high-tech yarns they invented called "twistrons," which generate electricity when stretched or twisted. Their new version is constructed much like traditional wool or cotton yarns.
Twistrons sewn into textiles can sense and harvest human motion; when deployed in salt water, twistrons can harvest energy from the movement of ocean waves; and twistrons can even charge supercapacitors.
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