Flexible, solar-powered supercapacitor developed for wearable electronics

London: A team led by an Indian-origin scientist has developed a flexible supercapacitor which can generate power from the Sun and store excess energy for later use.

The technology developed by researchers from the University of Glasgow in the UK could pave the way for a new generation of flexible electronic devices, including solar-powered prosthetics for

amputees.

The team led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya used layers of graphene and polyurethane to create the flexible supercapacitor, according to the study published in the journal Advanced Science.

The researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of their new material by powering a series of devices, including a string of 84 light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) and a prosthetic hand, allowing it to grasp a series of object.

The top touch sensitive layer is made from graphene, a highly flexible, transparent 'super-material' form of carbon layers just one atom thick, said Dahiya.

Sunlight which passes through the top layer of graphene is used to generate power via a layer of flexible photovoltaic cells below.

Any surplus power is stored in a newly-developed supercapacitor, made from a graphite-polyurethane composite.

The team worked to develop a ratio of graphite to polyurethane which provides a relatively large, electroactive surface area where power-generating chemical reactions can take place, creating an energy-dense flexible supercapacitor which can be charged and discharged very quickly.