Turn everyday clothes into phone chargers

American scientists are developing the idea of ​​turning everyday clothes into a source of mobile phone charging.

Scientists hope to soon be able to create products from conductive polymer-coated fibers to charge smartphones. Illustration: AP

Trisha Andrew, materials scientistat the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, is leading a project to turn clothes into mobile phone chargers using energy generated from human body movements, according to Quartz.

Scientists cover a layerpolymer with thickness 1/10 the diameter of human hair up to 14fibers such as cotton, linen, silk... by chemical vapor deposition method.This processTurns the fabric into an electrode, capable of conducting the electric current generated when the fabric rubs against each other due to human movement.

With polymer-coated fibers, scientists can generate a few microwatts of electricity, enough to light an LED, according to Andrew.The conductive properties are not affected when the fiber is rubbed, folded, or washed, except when exposed to hot water.“We can’t charge a smartphone using this method yet, but hopefully it will become a reality one day,” Andrew said.

Commercial applications of conductive fibers are not yet feasible. Cost is an obstacle that Andrew and his colleagues must overcome, as the chemical vapor deposition method is expensive and presents a number of technical challenges.

According to VNE