TY - JOUR
T1 - Multifunctional ultra-low voltage sweat-activated battery using piezo-ionic hydrogel
AU - Beg, Mustehsan
AU - Sam, Vishnu
AU - Kanathedath, Jithin
AU - Markapudi, Prasutha Rani
AU - Alcock, Keith M.
AU - Goh, Keng
AU - Yu, Hongnian
AU - Manjakkal, Libu
N1 - © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
PY - 2026/3
Y1 - 2026/3
N2 - Optimising ultra-low voltage with high capacity in batteries presents a challenge for emerging applications, such as wearable technology. In this study, we developed a multifunctional ultra-low voltage, sweat-activated fabric battery (SFB) using a biomaterial-based piezo-ionic hydrogel from water hyacinth carboxymethyl cellulose, mitigating risks of high-power and toxic materials near human skin. The SFB's multi-layer active material enhances conductivity and reduces resistance, enabling a 1 cm² device to discharge for 10 + h below 0.4 V, with an areal capacity of 4.1 mAh cm⁻² at 400 μA cm⁻². Furthermore, SFB with piezo-ionic hydrogel, when affixed to the elbow, generates a peak current of 115 nA cm⁻² as the elbow is fully flexed. Consequently, SFB can be utilised for energy storage, along with force and bending sensing. This study opens new avenues in advancing research on ultra-low voltage batteries for wearable and biomedical devices.
AB - Optimising ultra-low voltage with high capacity in batteries presents a challenge for emerging applications, such as wearable technology. In this study, we developed a multifunctional ultra-low voltage, sweat-activated fabric battery (SFB) using a biomaterial-based piezo-ionic hydrogel from water hyacinth carboxymethyl cellulose, mitigating risks of high-power and toxic materials near human skin. The SFB's multi-layer active material enhances conductivity and reduces resistance, enabling a 1 cm² device to discharge for 10 + h below 0.4 V, with an areal capacity of 4.1 mAh cm⁻² at 400 μA cm⁻². Furthermore, SFB with piezo-ionic hydrogel, when affixed to the elbow, generates a peak current of 115 nA cm⁻² as the elbow is fully flexed. Consequently, SFB can be utilised for energy storage, along with force and bending sensing. This study opens new avenues in advancing research on ultra-low voltage batteries for wearable and biomedical devices.
KW - Energy generator
KW - Fabric battery
KW - Piezo-ionic hydrogel
KW - Sweat
KW - Wearable energy storage
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027729678
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027729678#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2026.111729
DO - 10.1016/j.nanoen.2026.111729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105027729678
SN - 2211-2855
VL - 149
JO - Nano Energy
JF - Nano Energy
M1 - 111729
ER -