The development of stretchable/soft electronics requires power sources that can match their stretchability. In this study, a highly stretchable, transparent, and environmentally stable triboelectric nanogenerator with ionic conductor electrodes (iTENG) is reported. The ion-conducting elastomer (ICE) electrode, together with a dielectric elastomer electrification layer, allows the ICE-iTENG to achieve a stretchability of 1036% and transmittance of 91.5%. Most importantly, the ICE is liquid solvent-free and thermally stable up to 335 °C, avoiding the dehydration-induced performance degradation of commonly used hydrogels. The ICE-iTENG shows no decrease in electrical output even after storing at 100 °C for 15 h. Biomechanical motion energies are demonstrated to be harvested by the ICE-iTENG for powering wearable electronics intermittently without extra power sources. An ICE-iTENGbased pressure sensor is also developed with sensitivity up to 2.87 kPa −1 . The stretchable ICE-iTENG overcomes the strain-induced performance degradation using percolated electrical conductors and liquid evaporationinduced degradation using ion-conducting hydrogels/ionogels, suggesting great promising applications in soft/stretchable electronics under a relatively wider temperature range.
The
viable application of soft electronics/robotics relies on the
development of power devices which are desired to be flexible, deformable,
or even self-healable. We report here a shape-adaptive, self-healable
triboelectric nanogenerator (SS-TENG) for harvesting biomechanical
energies. The use of a viscoelastic polymer, normally known as Silly
Putty, as the electrification material and as the matrix of a carbon-nanotube-filled
composite (CNT-putty) electrode endows the SS-TENG the capability
of adapting to arbitrary irregular surfaces and instantaneous healing
from mechanical damage (almost completely recovered in 3 min without
extra stimuli). Furthermore, the output performances of the SS-TENG
have also been significantly improved because (i) the ideal soft contact
is achieved at the solid–solid interfaces for more effective
contact electrification and (ii) the introduced cation dopants make
the putty even more tribo-negative than polytetrafluoroethylene. The
SS-TENG can be adhered to any curvy surface, tailored, and reshaped
into arbitrary configurations and utilized as a power supply for small
electronics, suggesting promising applications in soft electronics/robotics
in the future.
The
integration between energy-harvesting and energy-storage devices
into a self-charging power unit is an effective approach to address
the energy bottleneck of wearable/portable/wireless smart devices.
Herein, we demonstrate a stretchable coplanar self-charging power
textile (SCPT) with triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and microsupercapacitors
(MSCs) both fabricated through a resist-dyeing-analogous method. The
textile electrodes maintain excellent conductivity at 600% and 200%
tensile strain along course and wale directions, respectively. The
fabric in-plane MSC with reduced graphene oxides as active materials
reaches a maximum areal capacitance of 50.6 mF cm–2 at 0.01 V s–1 and shows no significant degradation
at 50% of tensile strain. The stretchable fabric-based TENG can output
49 V open-circuit voltage and 94.5 mW m–2 peak power
density. Finally, a stretchable coplanar SCPT with one-batch resist-dyeing
fabrication is demonstrated for powering small electronics intermittently
without extra recharging. Our approach is also compatible with conventional
textile processing and suggests great potential in electronic textiles
and wearable electronics.
Enhanced output performances of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) are achieved by optimizing the high-dielectric-constant filler content in the electrification layer and decreasing its thickness.
Aims
Aortic aneurysm and dissection (AAD) are high-risk cardiovascular diseases with no effective cure. Macrophages play an important role in the development of AAD. As succinate triggers inflammatory changes in macrophages, we investigated the significance of succinate in the pathogenesis of AAD and its clinical relevance.
Methods and results
We used untargeted metabolomics and mass spectrometry to determine plasma succinate concentrations in 40 and 1665 individuals of the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. Three different murine AAD models were used to determine the role of succinate in AAD development. We further examined the role of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) and its transcription factor cyclic adenosine monophosphate-responsive element-binding protein 1 (CREB) in the context of macrophage-mediated inflammation and established p38αMKOApoe–/– mice. Succinate was the most upregulated metabolite in the discovery cohort; this was confirmed in the validation cohort. Plasma succinate concentrations were higher in patients with AAD compared with those in healthy controls, patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). Moreover, succinate administration aggravated angiotensin II-induced AAD and vascular inflammation in mice. In contrast, knockdown of OGDH reduced the expression of inflammatory factors in macrophages. The conditional deletion of p38α decreased CREB phosphorylation, OGDH expression, and succinate concentrations. Conditional deletion of p38α in macrophages reduced angiotensin II-induced AAD.
Conclusion
Plasma succinate concentrations allow to distinguish patients with AAD from both healthy controls and patients with AMI or PE. Succinate concentrations are regulated by the p38α–CREB–OGDH axis in macrophages.
The progress of electronic textiles relies on the development of sustainable power sources without much sacrifice of convenience and comfort of fabrics. Herein, we present a rechargeable textile alkaline Zn microbattery (micro-AZB) fabricated by a process analogous to traditional resist-dyeing techniques. Conductive patterned electrodes are realized first by resist-aided electroless/electrodeposition of Ni/Cu films. The resulting coplanar micro-AZB in a single textile, with an electroplated Zn anode and a Ni 0.7 Co 0.3 OOH cathode, achieves high energy density (256.2 Wh kg −1 ), high power density (10.3 kW kg −1 ), and stable cycling performances (82.7% for 1500 cycles). The solid-state micro-AZB also shows excellent mechanical reliability (bending, twisting, tailoring, etc.). The improved reversibility and cyclability of textile Zn electrodes over conventional Zn foils are found to be due to the significantly inhibited Zn dendrite growth and suppressed undesirable side reactions. This work provides a new approach for energy-storage textile with high rechargeability, high safety, and aesthetic design versatility.
Electrochromic supercapacitor devices (ESCDs) are highly promising for energy‐saving applications or smart windows, whereas they still require electrical energy inputs. In this study, a self‐charging ESCD (SC‐ESCD) based on the ESCD and a sliding‐mode direct‐current triboelectric nanogenerators is successfully proposed. The SC‐ESCD cannot merely convert mechanical sliding kinetic energy into electrical energy and store the electricity in electrochromic supercapacitors but can also show optical responses to the mechanical sliding motions. The prominent electrochemical performances of the SC‐ESCD are confirmed by the high areal capacitance (15.2 mF cm−2 at 0.1 mA cm−2) and stable cycling performance (99% for 5000 cycles). Besides, it can be prepared into arbitrary characters or patterns to adapt to various applications. The study demonstrates a potential approach to develop multifunctional self‐charging power sources which combine energy harvesting, energy storage, and electrochromic functions.
Stretchable electronic devices nowadays have become more and more necessary in our daily lives, and most of the present electronic devices are based on inorganic materials.
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