Energy Harvesters for Wearable and Stretchable Electronics: From Flexibility to Stretchability

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Energy Harvesting

Background:

• Wearable electronics and stretchable systems are rapidly advancing.
• Flexible energy harvesters are essential power sources but often limited by low strain tolerance.
• Existing flexible harvesters (≈0.1% strain) hinder applications in stretchable electronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the development of highly flexible and stretchable energy harvesters (>15% strain).
• To emphasize strategies for enhancing flexibility and stretchability in energy harvesting devices.
• To summarize progress in piezoelectric, triboelectric, thermoelectric, and dielectric elastomer energy harvesters for wearable applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of material synthesis strategies for flexible and stretchable energy harvesters.
• Analysis of device fabrication techniques for high-performance stretchable power sources.
• Examination of integration schemes for incorporating energy harvesters into stretchable systems.

Main Results:

• Development of energy harvesters with stretchability exceeding 15% strain.
• Progress in piezoelectric, triboelectric, thermoelectric, and dielectric elastomer based energy harvesting.
• Identification of key strategies for material synthesis, device fabrication, and integration.

Conclusions:

• Highly flexible and stretchable energy harvesters are vital for the future of wearable and stretchable electronics.
• Further research into assembly and integration is needed to realize the full potential of these devices.
• Advanced energy harvesting technologies are enabling independent power for next-generation electronic systems.