Energy harvesting performance of silver electroplated fabrics

The objective of present study was to make electrically conductive multifunctional fabrics and their further use as electrodes for the development of triboelectric generator (TrEG). The conductive fabrics were made by the coating of thin copper layer and then electroplating of silver layer. The surface structure, electrical conductivity, hydrophobicity, and antibacterial properties of coated fabrics were examined to know their multifunctional properties. After silver electroplating, the fabrics depicted the electrical resistivity of 2 Omega mm as compared to 70 Omega mm electrical resistivity reported for the copper coating alone. Later, the energy harvesting performance of conductive fabric electrodes was studied by combining with oppositely charged triboelectric materials such as silicon rubber and rabbit fur. The fabricated TrEG was found to produce 21 V and 3.5 mu A current under the stretching action whereas 33 V and 6 mu A current under the pressing action. Furthermore, it charged the 1 mu F capacitor to 17 mV in 5 s. When its energy harvesting performance was investigated under the mechanical actions of human body, it generated about 10 V from elbow movements and about 40 V from foot movements.