Practical fiber batteries for wearables based on thermally drawn Zn-MnO2
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. EDT
Maximilian Ulbert
Ensign, U.S. Navy
Research Fellow, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
The concept of the Internet-of-Things has inspired growth in the field of wearable technology, from aesthetically-pleasing color changing fabrics to practical heart rate monitors, all interwoven into any variety of clothes (ie. shirts, pants, hats, blankets, bags, etc.). For a continuously operating wearable system, an energy storage vessel is needed: a battery.
Specifically, interwoven or fabric-based systems demand that the battery be integrated in the fabric or fibers themselves. The primary challenge for such an integrated battery is rendering the active components of a battery (cathode, anode, and electrolyte) into a fiber. Existing challenges for fiber batteries include high materials costs, low power output, and complicated assembly approaches. Further, for the practical implementation of a fiber battery into wearable systems that make direct skin contact and are exposed to the ambient environment, battery safety is of key importance.
This work seeks to address both assembly and safety issues by developing an easily manufacturable fiber battery by means of a thermal draw tower using a safer Zn-ion chemistry (Zn/MnO2) with a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). As the GPE offers a high ionic conductivity, mechanical properties compatible with thermal draw towers and provides a physical separator between cathode and anode, the performance of lab scale prototypes and a drawn-fiber prototype will be discussed.
Attendees can join and participate in the series via Zoom. Meeting ID#: 860 986 455.