Zhao Li, a teacher at JI at Jiaotong University, proposed a unique self-charging mechanism applied to wearable devices in his research group

Recently, Zhao Li, assistant professor of the JI of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, published a report entitled Enhanced Spontaneous Self-Charging through Scalable Template-Free Surface Engineering at Building Block Fiber Scale in Nano Energy (impact factor of 19.
069), the top journal of international materials science Research paper
for Wearable Electronics ("Improving the Spontaneous Self-Charging Performance of Wearable Electronics with Scalable Template-Free Surface Engineering").
Zhao Lizheng is the corresponding author of the paper, Shen Fengyi, an undergraduate student of the Secret College, and Miao Sijia, a graduate student of the Energy Conversion and Optoelectronics Laboratory, as the co-first authors
of the paper.

This paper, based on the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project led by Dr.
Zhao Li, proposes a unique device structure that can realize the spontaneous self-charging mechanism
in wearable devices.
Although the concept of self-charging has been proposed, most self-charging devices require separate power generation and charging
in two devices.
In the research work of the research group, one device can realize two functions
in the self-charging mechanism.
The study also introduces a template-free and scalable approach to precisely modulate key parameters
of wearable devices.
This method improves the electrochemical behavior and energy harvesting performance of the device, and enhances the spontaneous self-charging at the fiber scale (see figure below).

Wearable electronic devices such as smart watches and smart glasses have been widely commercialized in recent years, and their advanced functions have provided convenience
for our daily lives.
Long-life batteries are used in these devices, which can be recharged
repeatedly with an external power supply.
However, the dependence of wearable electronics on external power supplies limits their application scenarios, such as stand-alone wearable biomedical devices
.

The spontaneous self-charging mechanism in wearable devices is still in the early stages of development, and it is challenging
to implement advanced functions on body devices due to the low controllability of body devices.
The research group uses a bottom-up approach to design the basic building block fibers of the device, which can precisely control each component of the device, and is expected to achieve advanced functions on the device, thereby breaking through the bottleneck of the current wearable electronic devices and promoting the development of
wearable electronic devices that do not come from power supply.

Paper Link:

style="text-align: center;">

Shen Fengyi, an undergraduate student at JI Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will graduate in 2023 and is currently pursuing a master's degree
at the Royal Swedish University of Technology in Stockholm.
His research interests include tribo-starting, nanogenerators and programmable substances
.

Miao Sijia is a graduate student
at JI at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
He received his engineering degree
from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2021.
His research interests include perovskite solar cells and wearable electronics
.

Dr.
Li Zhao joined JI Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2020 and is currently an assistant professor
.
He graduated from Oxford University with a PhD and was a research assistant
at the University of Cambridge.
His research interests include self-powered electronics for energy harvesting and new nanomaterial optoelectronic devices
for energy saving.