A paper-thin, flexible material increases its voltage every time it is folded.
Credit:
Michigan State University
At least once a week, Nelson Sepulveda gets on one of his bikes and rides 35 miles or more. He gets a good workout on those days, but as an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University, he knows some of it is wasted energy. All of that pedaling could be harnessed and converted into electricity to power his phone or some other electronic gadget.
This week, Sepulveda and his colleagues report in the journal Nano Energy on a new film-like material capable of turning motion into electricity. The material is similar to other piezoelectrics in that it generates a voltage when it's squeezed or pressed. But what sets this one apart is that it's paper thin and flexible and each time it's folded, the voltage increases.
"This increased voltage upon folding is not possible using other solid piezoelectric materials," Sepulveda told Seeker. https://www.livescience.com/57167-flexible-film-captures-energy-from-motion.html
