E-Textile: T-shirt generate electricity from the difference in body temperatures to the surroundings
E-textiles or electronic textiles, also known as smart textiles, are fabrics that enable digital components and electronics to be embedded in them. In this article, we will discuss how T-shirt generate electricity from the difference in body temperatures to the surroundings.
Electronic textiles or E-Textiles belong to the broader range of smart (or “intelligent”) textiles. Usually, textiles are defined as “smart” when they can respond to changes in environmental parameters, for example, regular wear like T-shirts or Shirts generating electricity by body heat, etc. Such “smart” functionalities are defined as electronic textiles or e-textiles. In this review, I will discuss on a research concept named “thermo-wearable electronics.”
Prototype: A T-shirt that Generates Electricity
Researchers of the Faculty of Science of the University of Malaga (UMA) in Spain have designed a low-cost T-shirt that generates electricity from the temperature difference between the human body and the surroundings. This “e-textile” prototype is developed in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa (IIT) and is based on sustainable methods and low-cost materials like tomato skin.
Materials and Method: T-shirt Generate Electricity From Body Temperatures
Materials that are needed: Water, tomato skin, ethanol, carbon nano-particles
Method:
Water and ethanol a type of ecological alcohol- derived from tomato skin and carbon nanoparticles. A solution that, according to experts, when heated, penetrates and adheres to cotton, thus obtaining electrical properties like those generated by tellurium, germanium or lead, but from biodegradable materials.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
| 1. This project reduces the waste of electricity. | 1. No generators are developed to store supplied electricity. |
| 2. It can charge mobile phone, and can power LED’s and medical sensors. | 2. The T-shirt is not properly washable. |
| 3. Biodegradable substance as the pathway of electricity is cheaper than tellurium, germanium etc. | 3. The T-shirt is not ironing resistant |
| 4. Eco-friendly project. | 4. It is not yet on the market as a wearable because the project is in under development. |
Conclusion and Future Prospects:
Our clothes are already adapting to the future, and they’re becoming more powerful. Scientists have already incorporated piezoelectricity, which uses movement to generate power, into clothing as well. The research and development of electronic textiles are steadily advancing so that new functionalities can regularly be expected to become available, making electronic materials more and more useful in our daily lives. We can’t buy this electricity-generating T-shirt just yet, but someday, we hope, we can access it. Research gaps: Fixing or alternative of not washing the garments, need research to store electricity, etc.
References:
- Research Journals:
- “Green Biocomposites for Thermoelectric Wearable Applications” by Pietro Cataldi, Marco Cassinelli, José A. Heredia‐Guerrero, Susana Guzman‐ Puyol, Sara Naderizadeh, Athanassia Athanassiou and Mario Caironi, 28 October 2019, Advanced Functional Materials Magazine:
- Science tech daily
- YouTube video link of the project: https://youtu.be/U3mKct-Rz8Q
- Writer’s information:
- Mohamad Mohiminul Pritom
- Department of Textile Engineering
- Green University of Bangladesh
- Contact: [email protected]
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