Abstract
A bio-derived power harvester from mechanical vibrations is here proposed. The harvester aims at using greener fabrication technologies and reducing the dependence from carbon-based fossil energy sources. The proposed harvester consists mainly of biodegradable matters. It is based on bacterial cellulose, produced by some kind of bacteria, in a sort of bio-factory. The cellulose is further impregnated with ionic liquids and covered with conducting polymers. Due to the mechanoelectrical transduction properties of the composite, an electrical signal is produced at the electrodes, when a mechanical deformation is imposed. Experimental results show that the proposed system is capable of delivering electrical energy on a resistive load. Applications can be envisaged on autonomous or quasi-autonomous electronics, such as wireless sensor networks, distributed measurement systems, wearable, and flexible electronics. The production technology allows for fabricating the harvester with low power consumption, negligible amounts of raw materials, no rare elements, and no pollutant emissions.
Highlights
The availability of low-cost electronics will enable the diffusion of smart systems, which will invade virtually any aspect of people’ s every-day life, with relevant changes in production processes and lifestyle [1]
Taking a cue from the mechanoelectrical transduction capabilities of Bacterial Cellulose (BC)-based compounds [19,20,21], this paper investigates the possibility of scavenging energy from low-frequency mechanical vibrations
The system is, mounted in a cantilever configuration and its energy harvesting performance from mechanical vibrations is studied by an experimental setup
Summary
The availability of low-cost electronics will enable the diffusion of smart systems, which will invade virtually any aspect of people’ s every-day life, with relevant changes in production processes and lifestyle [1]. Electronic smart systems will both further diffuse in traditional application fields (such as the process industry or the automotive applications) and conquer new ones (e.g., agriculture or smart homes) [1,2]. Due to this diffusion process in unconventional environments, new functionalities will be required for electronics. Conditions systems need to be capable of scavenging energy from the environment [4,5]. Different strategies have been already proposed, that are capable of collecting energy from ambient sources, such as solar power [6], thermic gradients [7], acoustic [8], RF [9], and mechanical vibrations and motions [10]
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