Carbon Nanotubes: Building Blocks for Power Textiles

According to the US National Renewable Energy Rooftop solar energy has the potential to deliver 39% of the US energy demand using current solar technology; in fact, if we convert the radiant solar energy hitting the earth's surface for only one hour, we would meet the world's yearly energy demand. However, largely around the world, the present cost of standard photovoltaic modules based on crystalline silicon technology is not competitive enough to replace the dominant but slowly depleting fossil fuels resources. Canada needs to develop a solar technology that is at the same time efficient and low in cost.

Furthermore, wearable technology in health monitoring, and entertainment have led to high-tech applications and are growing at an exponential pace. With today's society needs in mind, wearable devices must survive vigorous external stresses caused by flexing, twisting, stretching and exposure to random conditions. Rigid circuit boards in wearable technology are reaching the limits of their practical feasibility.

Our research group is focusing on solution-processed semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We propose to use this technology to address these two challenges using an innovative materials processing strategy which will allow CNT's to be used as building blocks for low cost high efficiency photovoltaics that can be fully integrated as a power source in textiles, i.e. power textiles.

The properties of CNTs are highly dependent on the direction and the degree of twist they are wrapped in and are thus extremely tunable. CNTs can either be metallic or semiconducting, with their bandgap ranging from 0 to 2 eV. With just as little as 80 nm thick films, CNTs can absorb the entirety of the sun's radiation spectrum. In addition to their exceptional electrical, and optical properties, CNTs possess unmatched mechanical properties. We believe that we are well placed to be the first to fabricate a highly efficient scalable carbon nanotube based solar junction. We also plan to leverage the mechanical compliance of carbon nanotubes for the first time to fabricate the first scalable textile-integrated photovoltaic junction, i.e. power textiles.

This project will generate scientific insights on the potential of carbon nanotubes in light conversion applications and will lead to innovations in the field of solar energy and wearable electronics. It will support 7 highly qualified personnel who will be trained in an inclusive interdisciplinary environment with potential international collaboration.