싱가포르 국립대, 땀을 전기에너지로 변환하는 기술 개발 VIDEO: Scientists develop super-absorbent film that can harvest human sweat to power wearable electronic devices

Scientists develop super-absorbent film that can harvest human sweat to power wearable electronic devices including watches and fitness trackers

The team developed a 3D printed shoe insole and lining that can absorb sweat and keep athletes cool while out running

Researchers created the new film that is able to absorb water from sweat

They then created a wearable device that turns the moisture into energy

That energy can be used to power devices - currently only a single LED bulb

They hope with future versions it can power fitness trackers and smart watches 

By RYAN MORRISON FOR MAILONLINE 

PUBLISHED: 12:19 GMT, 5 January 2021 | UPDATED: 12:19 GMT, 5 January 2021

싱가포르 국립대, 땀을 전기에너지로 변환하는 기술 개발     개발자들에 따르면, 새로운 초흡수 필름은 땀을 스마트 시계와 같은 웨어러블 전자 기기에 동력을 공급하기 위해 전기로 전환하는데 사용될 수 있다고 한다. 싱가포르 국립대학의 연구원들은 사람들이 운동하는 동안 시원하게 유지하기 위해 피부에서 땀을 증발시킬 수 있는 이 새로운 필름을 개발했다. 연구팀은 직물이나 신발 라이닝에 포함될 수 있는 이 필름도 수분을 에너지로 변환시켜 전자장치에 동력을 공급할 수 있다고 말한다. 이 작업을 하기 위해 그들은 8개의 셀이 있는 새로운 웨어러블 에너지 수집 장치를 개발했는데, 각각의 셀은 수분을 흡수하고 나면 약 0.5볼트의 에너지를 생산할 수 있다. 이 기술은 현재 LED 전구를 구동하기에 충분하지만, 이 기술은 개념 검증 단계에 불과하며, 이 기술이 완전히 개발되면 전력 피트니스 추적기, 시계 또는 기타 미래의 웨어러블 기술로 확대될 수 있을 것으로 팀은 믿고 있다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 Ki Chul Hwang Conpaper editor

edited by kcontents

A new super-absorbent film could be used to turn sweat into electricity to power wearable electronic devices such as a smart watch, according to its developers.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) created the novel film that can evaporate sweat from the skin to keep people cool while exercising.

The team say the film, which could be included in fabrics or as a new shoe lining, can also power electronic devices by converting the moisture into energy.

 

As part of the initial testing the team also created a simple armpit patch that absorbs the sweat before it reaches clothes (middle images)

To make this work they created a new wearable energy harvesting device with eight cells - each can produce about half a volt of energy after absorbing moisture.

This is currently enough to power an LED bulb - but the technology is only at the proof of concept stage and the team believe it can be extended to power fitness trackers, watches or other future wearable technology when it is fully developed. 

The new film was reported in the journal Nano Energy and early experiments involved a patch that could absorb underarm sweat and stop it reaching clothing. 

The material is a thin layer that can soak water from the skin through evaporation and harvest the energy from the moisture to power devices

'When water is evaporated from the skin surface, it lowers the skin temperature and we feel cooler,' explained team leader Tan Swee Ching.

'In our new invention, we created a novel film that is extremely effective in evaporating sweat from our skin and then absorbing the moisture from sweat.'

The main components of the novel thin film are two hygroscopic chemicals – cobalt chloride and ethanolamine, the team explained.

Besides being extremely moisture-absorbent, this film can rapidly release water when exposed to sunlight. It can also be ‘regenerated’ and reused over 100 times. 

The early prototype can only produce enough power from a 10-minute run to power a single LED bulb - but future releases will be able to power watches and fitness trackers

Conventional materials have low water uptake and bulk solid structures, making them unsuitable for absorbing moisture from sweat evaporation. 

In comparison, the new moisture-absorbing film developed by NUS takes in 15 times more moisture and do this six times faster than conventional materials.

In addition, this innovative film shows a colour change when it absorbs moisture, from blue to purple, and finally pink.

This feature can be used as an indicator of the degree of moisture absorption.

The NUS team packaged the film into breathable and waterproof membranes, which are flexible and commonly used in clothing.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9114389/Scientists-develop-super-absorbent-film-harvest-human-sweat-power-wearables.html

Scientists make film that absorbs sweat's moisture, helps power devices | Really News 

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