MANILA, Philippines - One of the most convenient discoveries. Never mind the typical mobile charger and the power banks. Cheap T-shirts that can store electrical power can charge your cellular phone has been discovered by Professor Xiaodong Li from the University of South Carolina and researcher Dr. Lihong Bao.
This development satisfies your need for a "flexible energy storage." In the experiment, they used T-shirts bought from a local discount store, which was soaked in a solution of fluoride, dried and then baked in an oxygen-free environment at high temperature.They then coated the individual fibers with manganese oxide. These fibers were now turned into electrodes. And best of all, the charred-looking material, despite being baked, could still be folded.
"This created a stable, high-performing supercapacitor," said Prof Li.
Even after repetitive charge-discharge cycles, the hybrid supercapacitors proved resilient. Their performance did not diminish more than five percent.
"By stacking these supercapacitors up, we should be able to charge portable electronic devices such as cell phones," Prof Li added.
In relation to this study, on 2013, a project called Karma Chameleon was performed. It involves weaving electronic fabric into clothes in a way that allows the storage of energy from the body.
Many researchers around the world are looking at smart fabrics in various shapes and forms. This T-shirt that could charge cellular phones, which is deemed essential by today's people might be just a discovery that the innovative generation needs.