I-Corps: Fabric Supercapacitor for Solar Energy Storage

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种能够收集和储存太阳能的特殊纺织品。所提出的技术的潜在应用是替代电源和电池设备。目前的替代电源在偏远农村地区是必不可少的，那里的人们缺乏可靠的电网基础设施。然而，旅行者，徒步旅行者或露营者可能会发现这些替代品的成本或安全性过高。部署到偏远地区的救灾或军事人员可能会发现，除了移动性问题之外，目前的电池设备在大规模上是昂贵的，并且燃料解决方案对于那些向位于恶劣环境中的人供应燃料的人来说是有风险的。使用这项技术，徒步旅行者或士兵的背包可以变成一个电源。太阳能电池可以被缝到袋中以收集将由袋超级电容器存储的太阳能。类似地，织物超级电容器可以嵌入帐篷材料中，使帐篷也成为太阳能电源。一个可持续的，自我供电的系统使旅行者有可能到偏远地区或为军事行动部署的士兵。这个I-Corps项目是基于开发一种制造织物超级电容器（FSC）的技术。所提出的技术包括各种织物材料、织物的结构设计和新颖的制造方法。FSC装置的能量存储能力将由用于形成超级电容器结构的织物区域的尺寸确定。 与传统的超级电容器相比，所提出的FSC技术是灵活的，重量轻，安全。此外，可弯曲、可扭转、可卷曲和可折叠的设计提供了常规超级电容器可能无法接近的空间。该技术的演示表明，四个串联超级电容器照亮红色LED超过130分钟，并且仍然保持约1.61 V的电压输出。超级电容器易于在0-180度角内循环弯曲而不会失去其性能。 建议的全织物FSC技术可能会被采用到许多纺织产品获得太阳能收集和电力存储的功能。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持的评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a special textile product capable of harvesting and storing solar energy. The potential application of the proposed technology is for alternative power supplies and battery devices. Current alternative power supplies are indispensable in remote rural areas where people lack access to reliable power grid infrastructure. However, travelers, hikers, or campers may find these alternatives cost- or safety-prohibitive. Disaster relief or military personnel deployed to remote areas may find that in addition to the mobility issues, current battery devices are costly on a large scale and fuel solutions are risky for those supplying fuel to those situated in hostile environments. Using the proposed technology, a hiker’s or soldier’s backpack may be turned into a power supply. A solar cell may be sewn into the bag to harvest solar energy that will be stored by the bag supercapacitor. Similarly, the fabric supercapacitor may be embedded into tent material, making the tent into a solar power supply as well. A sustainable, self-powered system make it possible for travelers to remote areas or for soldiers deployed for military operations. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a technology for making fabric supercapacitors (FSCs). The proposed technology includes various fabric materials, structural design of the fabric, and a novel fabrication approach. The energy storage ability of the FSC device will be determined by the size of the fabric areas used for forming the supercapacitor structure. Compared with conventional supercapacitors, the proposed FSC technology is flexible, light weight, and safe. In addition, the bendable, twistable, rollable, and foldable design provides space that may be inaccessible to conventional supercapacitors. A demonstration of the technology showed that four series supercapacitors illuminated a red LED for more than 130 min and still maintained a voltage output around 1.61 V. The supercapacitor was susceptible to cyclic bending in 0-180 degree angles without losing its performance. The proposed all-fabric FSC technology potentially may be adopted into many textile products acquiring the functions of solar energy harvesting and electric power storage.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.