A team of researchers in The Kang Group for Bioinspired Materials and Mechanical Systems at Johns Hopkins University, led by Professor Sung Hoon Kang, have developed a way to increase the flexibility and stretchability of piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and vice versa. This new method allows researchers to create architected materials with broad applications in portable self-powered devices and wearable sensors. The team’s findings were recently published in the Journal of Materials Research.
According to an article in MRS Bulletin, the team took inspiration from the art of kirigami, which is similar to origami but involves a careful pattern of cuts that allows a new structure to be formed. The researchers were able to design sheets to meet desired goals, like creating sheets that could harvest energy at specific wind speeds for wind energy.
Kirigami allows them to make more with less. “If we add these cuts, we can utilize previously unavailable energy,” Kang says.
You can read the full article here.