Wooden piece transformed into a flexible membrane which can generate electricity that powers the human body

On 27 March 2019, scientists at the University of Maryland, US, had transformed a wooden piece into a flexible membrane which can generate electricity that powers the human body.

This energy is generated using charged channel walls and other unique properties of the wood's natural nanostructure, according to researchers.

A study about the same has been published in Nature Materials.

Researchers used Basswood, a fast-growing tree, to harness the nanometer-thin channels in the tree to regulate a flow of ions, generating electricity.

"The charged channel walls can establish an electrical field that appears on the nanofibres and thus help effectively regulate ion movement under a thermal gradient," said Tian Li, first author of the research.

He added," We are the first to show that, this type of membrane, with its expansive arrays of aligned cellulose, can be used as a high-performance ion selective membrane by nanofluidics and molecular streaming and greatly extends the applications of sustainable cellulose into nanoionics."

This innovation is a further addition to clean-tech technology with wood, a natural insulator being used to conduct electricity.

In a continuing series of innovation in wearable technologies, researchers at Vanderbilt University had created a sensor-based nano-thin material which produced electricity from minor body movements.

In January 2019, Texas A&M university had created smart clothes which could produce electricity to power health sensors and transmit data wirelessly.

Matrix Industries has released the PowerWatch 2 which runs off the wearer's body. This is an upgrade over PowerWatch which is a thermoelectric generator that captures body heat to power up. It stays charged for long, tracks the wearer's movements to help survive their next challenge.

(With inputs from PTI)