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A Simple and Scalable Fabrication Method for Organic Electronic Devices on Textiles
Published on: March 13, 2017
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Scalable thermoelectric fibers for multifunctional textile-electronics
Tianpeng Ding1, Kwok Hoe Chan1, Yi Zhou1
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore, 117583, Singapore.
Nature Communications
|November 27, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a scalable gelation extrusion method for continuous thermoelectric (TE) fibers, enabling advanced wearable electronics. This innovation facilitates the creation of multifunctional textiles for energy harvesting and interactive applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Textile Engineering
- Energy Harvesting
Background:
- Thermoelectric (TE) textiles offer potential for wearable applications, including energy harvesting and sensor connectivity.
- Current methods for fabricating TE textiles are limited by laborious assembly, scalability, and mechanical compliance issues.
- Addressing these limitations is crucial for practical implementation of TE wearables.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a scalable and efficient method for manufacturing continuous p/n thermoelectric fibers.
- To demonstrate the fabrication of multifunctional textiles using these advanced TE fibers.
- To explore the application of TE textiles in energy harvesting, touch panels, and robotics.
Main Methods:
- A novel gelation extrusion strategy was employed for digitalized manufacturing of continuous p/n TE fibers.
- Alternating p/n-type TE fibers were woven into multifunctional textiles.
- The developed TE textiles were integrated into wearable applications, including curved surfaces, touch panels, and robotic garments.
Main Results:
- The gelation extrusion method achieved high scalability and process efficiency in producing continuous TE fibers.
- Multifunctional textiles were successfully woven, enabling energy harvesting on curved surfaces and creating multi-pixel touch panels.
- Modularized TE garments demonstrated capabilities for diverse active and localized tasks when worn on a robotic arm.
Conclusions:
- The developed gelation extrusion strategy offers a viable pathway for digitalized manufacturing of TE fibers at scale.
- This advancement provides new inspiration for flexible electronic devices and paves the way for widespread implementation of multifunctional textile-electronics.
- The research highlights the potential of scalable TE fiber fabrication for next-generation wearable technologies.
