Laser Printing Produces Waterproof Electronic Textiles In Minutes.

Scientists at the Royal University of science and Technology (RMIT) in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a low-cost and scalable way to quickly produce textiles that embed energy storage equipment.

In just three minutes, this method can produce a 10. X10cm's smart textile patch is waterproof, stretchable and easy to integrate with energy harvesting technology.

Graphene supercapacitors are powerful, long life storage devices that can be easily combined with solar energy or other energy sources.

In a conceptual verification, the researchers connected supercapacitors to solar cells, providing an efficient, washable and self powered smart fabric that overcomes the major drawbacks of the existing electronic textile energy storage technology.

Litty Thekkakara, a researcher at RMIT, said smart textiles with built-in sensors, wireless communications or health monitoring technologies needed strong and reliable energy solutions.

Thekkakara said: "current smart textile energy storage methods, such as sewing batteries on clothing or using electronic fibers, may be cumbersome and may have capacity problems."

"When these electronic components are exposed to moisture in sweat or in the environment, there will also be short-circuit and mechanical failure."

"Our graphene super capacitors can not only be completely washable, but also store the energy needed for smart clothing -- and can be produced in large scale in a few minutes."

The research analyzed the performance of the concept verification smart textiles in a series of mechanical, temperature and washability tests, and found that it remained stable and efficient.

Researchers have applied for patent for this new technology, which was developed with the support of RMIT seed fund and Design Center project grants.