Research Team Develops Self-Healing Device to Gene
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A research team from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST) in South Korea has developed a novel clean-energy-generation technology with self-healing properties. Led by Lee Joo-hyuk, a professor in the department of energy science and engineering, the team designed the biodegradable green device to enhance current renewable energy-generation capabilities while minimizing the burgeoning green-energy industry’s impact on the environment.
The ionic polyurethane-based triboelectric generator uses ionic liquid to boost its power output significantly and has high electropositive, self healing and biodegradable properties. The new design’s properties make it a potentially feasible sustainable energy source for the next generation of wearable and soft electronic devices.
With the world collectively striving to eliminate fossil fuels from its energy mix through strategies such as electrification and adopting clean energy, the new technology could be instrumental in helping the globe achieve net carbon neutrality. The novel green-energy-generation technology is built on years of research into triboelectric generators that use friction to convert kinetic energy to electricity.
Since regular friction can cause major mechanical damage over time, the design had to have self-healing properties that would prevent it from ultimately breaking down due to friction-induced damage. Furthermore, using biodegradable, or ecofriendly, materials in the design’s construction would increase its value as a green-energy device and significantly minimize its environmental impact once it finally loses functionality and is disposed of.
The research team behind the design has built a polyurethane-based triboelectric generator capable of producing clean energy for next-generation electric devices in a sustainable manner. Such novel technologies will be key to the world cutting down fossil fuel use to zero and achieving carbon neutrality. The device’s high electropositive properties and self-heating functions come from the imidazolium ions utilized in its design while polycaprolactone (PCL)-based polyurethane grants it its biodegradable capabilities.
The research team analyzed the ionic polyurethane-based device’s power output in different conditions to test its performance and found that it had a nearly 90% self-healing efficiency and could generate an energy density of up to 436.8 mW/m2. Furthermore, the team noted that just 21% of the device’s initial mass remained after biodegrading for 300 days.
Lee says the team’s research efforts led to the development of an efficient material that has both biodegradation and self-healing properties without compromising its high energy output. The researcher said that the prototype would potentially serve as a sustainable power source for the next generation of wearable electric devices and noted that his team would focus on commercializing the technology in its follow-up studies.
Many companies, such as FuelPositive Corp. (TSX.V: NHHH) (OTCQB: NHHHF), are also investing in different ways to make clean energy more widely available at an affordable cost. As these efforts get traction in different markets, fossil fuels are likely to see reduced demand in the years to come.
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