Key advancement in field of wearable tech
Researchers at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, have made a significant advancement in the field of wearable technology.
They have developed a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) utilising flexible single crystals of an organic compound as the main component for the fabrication of a self-powered tactile sensor, which was used to monitor finger joint movements.
This has significant importance particularly in biomedical and robotic system development and could pave the way for their utilisation as biomedical wearable devices.
The research by INST, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Organic materials are gaining importance for optoelectronic applications because of their lower cost and environmental footprint, easy fabrication and practical feasibility. Among various organic materials, single crystals are better suited for device fabrication because of their well-ordered packing and precise spatial arrangements.
They also possess intrinsic long range structural order and anisotropy and tuneable optical and electronic properties, thereby resulting in superior device performance. Additionally, the ease of synthesis, crystallisation and device fabrication position organic single crystals as promising candidates to meet the evolving demand for next generation technologies.
Triboelectrification was attained in single crystals as a result of surface functionalisation with positively and negatively charged moieties, viz. Zn2+ and F-, respectively, which resulted in different surface potentials thereby leading to reversible adhesion through electrostatic interaction and induction phenomena. The TENG incorporating the single crystals was capable of charging commercial capacitors thereby ensuring its ability to be used as a self-powered touch sensor. Capitalising on these features, a self-powered tactile sensor was fabricated to demonstrate limb movements.
