Variable Capacity Polymer based Energy Harvesters with Integrated Macroporous Elastomer Springs

Qixiang Jiang, Veronika Otáhalová , Victor Burre, Hannah Leese, Milo S.P. Shaffer, Robert Hahn, Angelika Menner, Alexander Bismarck

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We introduce a manufacturing concept of variable capacity energy harvesters consisting of macroporous springs integrated within a conducting silicone rubber and dielectric. Printing and polymerising emulsion templates resulted in macroporous spring elements, which were coated with conducting silicone rubber to maintain the active contact surface. By increasing size and number of these springs, the capacitance change of the energy harvesters during compression and recovery increased from 0.4 nF/cm2 to 0.8 nF/cm2. During cyclic loading with 30 N at 2 Hz, the energy harvesters with macroporous springs delivered a power density of 0.58 µW/cm2 at a bias voltage of 50 V, which was 25 times higher than the control without springs. The energy harvesters provided a constant power output over three hours of cyclic loading (21,600 cycles), indicating their structural stability and the durability of the macroporous springs.
Original languageEnglish
Article number109460
Number of pages9
JournalNano Energy
Volume124
Early online date6 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

We are grateful to Nesrine Battoul Debabèche (UniVie) for her help and ingenuity to take videos of energy harvesters while loading in compression.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the EU FP7 funding through MATFLEXEND (grant number 604093) and Erasmus supporting VO for her research stay at University of Vienna.

FundersFunder number
European UnionFP7

    Keywords

    • Elastomers
    • Emulsion templating
    • Macroporous polymers
    • Spring element
    • Variable capacity energy harvester

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science
    • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
    • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

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