A group of researchers has developed a self-healing, stretchable battery that can transform wearable electronics, including smartwatches and smart glasses, as reported by Tech Xplore.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology collaborated on a new type of battery that has incredible stretching and self-healing capabilities.
The team developed the battery through a process that began with a zwitterionic polymer, which is an atom that has both a positive and negative charge. This allows water molecules to bond with positive charges while lithium ions bond with negative charges. With water drawn from the air, the battery can release electricity without a high risk of losing charge.
In a video shared by the team at UC Berkeley, they demonstrate how the battery can be stretched, twisted, and even punctured, while still maintaining function.
"By using a self-healable elastomer package, the deformable battery can self-heal itself from repeated through cuts by a razor blade and retain 90% of the original capacity," the study noted. "Meanwhile, the stretchable battery without hermetic packaging operates stably for 1 month in the ambient for 500 charge-discharge cycles with an average coulomb efficiency of 95%."
According to Tech Xplore, the team was able to attach the battery to a circuit board that controlled LED lights. The self-healing ability of the battery allowed it to perform for more than a month while being stretched and cut.
"The self-healing capability and non-fluorinated composition enhance both mechanical and chemical safety against potential damages," the authors of the study wrote. "These attributes make the hydrogel a promising candidate as electrolyte for deformable batteries that can seamlessly and safely interface with human skin."
This makes the battery an ideal candidate for wearable tech, like smart watches, fitness trackers, smart rings, smart glasses, and virtual reality headgear. Unlike batteries for electric vehicles, solar panels, or other technology, wearable items need special batteries that can withstand movement.
"To be able to be used in a wearable device, they need to withstand a certain degree of real-world bending and twisting," said Ke Niu, a scientist at the Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optical and Electronic Materials and Devices at the Guilin University of Technology. "But most of those explored so far fail in the face of such stress."
The tests from this research group show improvements in batteries for wearable tech, which can help decrease the costs of production and decrease waste from a high demand for new products. For example, a smart watch lasts on average for two to three years. With more durable batteries, consumers could use their watches and other tech for longer, lowering the need for new products, which helps eliminate waste.
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Absolutely 💯 While there is still more testing required for the self-healing battery, the study showed increasingly positive attributes that the battery can be used in more than wearable technology.
"Mechanically safe and deformable Li-ion batteries … could potentially be suitable for other energy storage devices such as supercapacitors, Zn-ion batteries, and metal air batteries," the study read.
Other researchers have also found success in their studies of self-healing batteries. Recently, at the University of California, San Diego, researchers developed a lithium-sulfur battery that could work with EVs. Researchers have also been tinkering with tech that could help produce self-healing solar panels and self-healing concrete.
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