Carbon Nanotube Yarn generates power when stretched

Scientists created carbon nanotube yarn that generate power when pulled.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea have developed high-tech carbon yarns that are capable of generating electricity when they’re stretched or twisted.

The coiled carbon nanotube yarns imaged above with a scanning electron microscope, generate electrical energy when stretched or twisted.

In a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Science, researchers describe “twistron” yarns and their possible applications, such as harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations. When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a self-powered breathing monitor.

“The easiest way to think of twistron harvesters is, you have a piece of yarn, you stretch it, and out comes electricity,” said Dr. Carter Haines BS’11, PhD’15, associate research professor in the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at UT Dallas and co-lead author of the article. The article also includes researchers from South Korea, Virginia Tech, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and China.