SBIR Phase I: High-power Mechanical Energy Harvesting Using Reverse Electrowetting on Nanostructured Surfaces

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将确定开发一种全新的机电能量转换方法的可行性，这种方法基于反向电润湿，这是一种最近发现的新的微流体现象。该方法的目标是通过数千个微观液滴与新型纳米结构薄膜的相互作用来实现机械能的高功率收集。机械能的高功率收集是一个公认的概念，过去由于缺乏可行的能量收集技术而没有商业化。现有的机械-电能转换方法，如电磁、压电或静电，不允许与大多数高功率环境机械能源进行有效的直接耦合。显然需要一种简单而高效的高功率机电能量转换方法，该方法能够利用自然界中通常遇到的大范围的非周期性的力和位移。提出的方法旨在满足这些目标，并在能源收集性能方面实现革命性的飞跃。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力取决于它能否为传统的电化学电池提供一种可行的替代方案，从而减少成本、污染和其他与其广泛使用相关的问题。近年来，便携式电子产品与我们的日常生活密不可分。然而，尽管移动设备的尺寸越来越小，功能越来越多，但为移动设备供电仍然是一个挑战。大多数便携式电子设备仍然由电池供电。根据摩尔定律，移动设备的处理能力大约每18个月翻一番。相比之下，为这些设备提供动力的电池的能量容量在过去几十年里并没有大幅增加。因此，电池成为阻碍便携式电子产品进一步发展的关键瓶颈。如果成功，建议的方法可以提供突破性的发电技术，并导致对传统电池的依赖大大减少。这将转化为重要的社会效益，如提高美国工人的生产率和效率，减少实现相同水平性能所需电池的数量和容量而减少污染，以及开发重大的新出口机会。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will determine feasibility of developing a radically new mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion method which is based on reverse electrowetting - a recently discovered novel microfluidic phenomenon. The approach is targeted towards high-power harvesting of mechanical energy, which is achieved through the interaction of thousands of microscopic liquid droplets with novel nanostructured films. High-power harvesting of mechanical energy is a long-recognized concept which has not been commercialized in the past due to the lack of a viable energy harvesting technology. Existing methods of mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion such as electromagnetic, piezoelectric, or electrostatic do not allow effective direct coupling to the majority of high-power environmental mechanical energy sources. There is clearly a need for a simple and efficient high-power mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion method capable of utilizing a broad range of aperiodic forces and displacements typically encountered in nature. The proposed approach aims to satisfy these goals and provide a revolutionary leap in the energy harvesting performance. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project hinges upon its ability to provide a viable alternative to traditional electrochemical batteries and thus reduce cost, pollution, and other problems associated with their widespread use. In recent years, portable electronics have become inextricably intertwined with our daily life. However, for all their decreasing size and increasing capabilities, powering mobile devices has remained a challenge. The majority of portable electronic devices are still powered by batteries. The processing power of mobile devices doubles approximately every 18 month in accordance with Moore's law. In contrast the energy capacity of batteries powering these devices has not greatly increased over the last couple of decades. As the result electrical batteries emerged as a critical bottleneck impeding further progress in portable electronics development. If successful, the proposed approach can provide a breakthrough power generation technology and lead to greatly reduced dependence on traditional batteries. This would translate into such important societal benefits as improved productivity and increased efficiency of US workers, decreased pollution due to reduction in the amount and capacity of the batteries required to achieve the same level of performance, as well as development of significant new export opportunities.