Flexible Rubber Film Generates Electricity When Stressed

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) have created a new material that generates electricity when stressed, with a wealth of potential applications in the energy harvesting and wearable sectors.

According to Empa, the flexible rubber film – made of polar nanoparticles and an elastomer – uses the piezoelectric effect to convert mechanical movements into electrical charges.

“The trick behind the generated current is the internal polarization which changes when the rubber film is mechanically stressed,” Empa notes in their release.

The most obvious application is in clothing, providing an electric charge to some throwaway consumer fad (hokey light-up t-shirts, anyone?). Though it can also be a tad more beneficial to society – as a way to power heart rate monitors or pacemakers, control buttons, or monitor a wide variety of activities. It could even allow robots to experience a rudimentary sense of touch.

As energy harvesting goes, this device is one of the more promising examples – far less clunky than an energy harvesting knee brace, anyway.

See more here: https://www.empa.ch/web/s604/elektrischer-gummi