Cotton -based methanol fuel cells could supply flexible electronic future

Cotton fiber fiber batteries can now convert methanol to electricity while supporting the density of advanced power to 2,000 continuous flexion cycles. This breakthrough opens the way to safe and high performance sources for flexible electronics and portable devices.

Researchers at the University of Sochow have developed direct fiber -shaped fuel batteries (FDMFC) using gel -encapsulated woven wires. These “yarn @ gels” use an adaptive internal pressure strategy, where the natural swelling of cotton fibers in the gel matrix generates pressure to maintain closely linked cellular components, eliminating the need for large and rigid parts. The result is a flexible, cut, water -resistant and fast fuel cell to refuel in one minute.

The results of this study are published in Nature materials.

While personal technology evolves towards folded portable devices, the demand for flexible and light energy sources has increased considerably. Scientists have designed flexible sources of power of all kinds, from solar cells to lithium-ion batteries to supercapacitors. However, everyone is short, limited by dependence on light, poor energy storage and slow recharging, pushing researchers to seek better food systems.

Fuel batteries have become promising actors in this area, offering high energy density and rapid supplies that make them ideal for continuous use, but they are not without their defects. In this study, researchers took up these challenges by introducing Yarn @ gels into the flexible design of fuel cells. This innovation provided higher fuel retention and mechanical stability, but won over the problems of rigidity and sealing that had long tormented flexible fuel batteries.

The design of fuel fuel cells in fiber-shaped methanol began with the preparation of a primary gel from Poly (N, N-Dimethylacedama) (PDMA) by the photopolymerization induced by UV, using a cross-link and a photoinist to form the gel matrix. To create the @ gels thread, the woven cotton thread was soaked in this solution until it is completely saturated and then hardened under UV light to form fibers covered with frost. The membrane electrode set (MEA) has been prepared separately by spraying the anode and cathode catalyst inks on a pre -pruity nafion membrane.

Finally, the fuel cells were built by wrapping several functional layers around the yarn @ gels nucleus in a layer by layer. The team then tested electrochemical performance and mechanical limits of fuel cells.

Fuel batteries have reached cutting -edge power densities of 27.3 MW / cm² at 60 ° C and 5.89 MW / cm² even below freezing, reliably from -22 ° C to 70 ° C. They kept 94.7% even after 1,500 folding cycles of 180 ° and continued to operate with little performance loss even when they are cut in half. Even after 100 supply cycles at 200 mA, no fall in tension was observed.

The exceptional resilience and the electrical performance of these fiber -shaped fuel cells make them ideal candidates for portable electronics. Researchers note that this modular design could be put on the scale of intelligent textiles and portable electronics to large -scale energy applications.

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