Wearable energy-smart ribbons for synchronous energy harvest and storage.
A promising energy source for many current and future applications is a ribbon-like device that could simultaneously harvest and store energy. Due to the high flexibility and weavable property, a fabric/matrix made using these ribbons could be highly beneficial for powering wearable electronics. Unlike the approach of using two separate devices, here we report a ribbon that integrates a solar cell and a supercapacitor. The electrons generated by the solar cell are directly transferred and stored on the reverse side of its electrode which in turn also functions as an electrode for the supercapacitor. When the flexible solar ribbon is illuminated with simulated solar light, the supercapacitor holds an energy density of 1.15 mWh cm-3and a power density of 243 mW cm-3. Moreover, these ribbons are successfully woven into a fabric form. Our all-solid-state ribbon unveils a highly flexible and portable self-sufficient energy system with potential applications in wearables, drones and electric vehicles.
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Chao
C
Li
Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
Md Monirul
MM
Islam
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA.
Julian
J
Moore
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA.
Joseph
J
Sleppy
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA.
Caleb
C
Morrison
Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
Konstantin
K
Konstantinov
Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
Shi Xue
SX
Dou
Institute of Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Chait
C
Renduchintala
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.|CREOL, The college of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Jayan
J
Thomas