Hybrid Smart Fiber with Spontaneous Self-Charging Mechanism for Sustainable Wearable Electronics

Abstract

Smart wearable electronics that are fabricated on light-weight fabrics or flexible substrates are considered to be of next-generation and portable electronic device systems. Ideal wearable and portable applications not only require the device to be integrated into various fiber form factors, but also desire self-powered system in such a way that the devices can be continuously supplied with power as well as simultaneously save the acquired energy for their portability and sustainability. Nevertheless, most of all self-powered wearable electronics requiring both the generation of the electricity and storing of the harvested energy, which have been developed so far, have employed externally connected individual energy generation and storage fiber devices using external circuits. In this work, for the first time, a hybrid smart fiber that exhibits a spontaneous energy generation and storage process within a single fiber device that does not need any external electric circuit/connection is introduced. This is achieved through the employment of asymmetry coaxial structure in an electrolyte system of the supercapacitor that creates potential difference upon the creation of the triboelectric charges. This development in the self-charging technology provides great opportunities to establish a new device platform in fiber/textile-based electronics.