Abstract
Inspired by phase-change technology storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat, direct conversion of environmental temperature variation into a useful form of mechanical work is achieved using the drastic volume change of a phase-change material during solid-liquid phase transformation. A twisted carbon nanotube yarn in combination with a phase-change material functions as a backbone of torsional actuator, powered by the change of environmental temperature, because nanopores among carbon nanotubes or their bundles are completely filled with the phase-change material. By the proper selection of infiltrated material whose melting temperature lies within a diurnal temperature range, this hybrid yarn can be applied in an autonomous system using naturally abundant low-grade thermal energy flow.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6647-6652 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 5 Dec 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This paper was supported by Sungkyun Research Fund, Sungkyunkwan University, 2013
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
- Carbon nanotube yarn
- Diurnal temperature variation energy harvesting
- Environmental energy harvesting
- Phase-change material
- Torsional actuation