Berkeley, CA — Researchers have created nanofibers that could be woven into clothing and harvest energy from the wearer's movements in order to power small electronics.
A team of University of California-Berkeley engineers developed the nano-sized generators, which convert stress, stretches and twists into energy.
While their research continues, the team says they've found that smaller nanofibers and vigorous movements like dancing produce higher amounts of energy.
They envision that the nanofibers could eventually be used to make energy-harvesting clothing and textiles that power hand-held electronics. Because the fibers are so small - one-tenth the width of most cloth fibers - they would not be noticeable by the wearer or affect the comfort of clothing.
And the fact that the nanofibers are made from organic polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF, means they are easy and cheap to manufacture.
The research by the international team led by Liwei Lin, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering, was supported with the help of the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
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