Key points from article :
Engineers create flexible batteries that can undergo multiple wash cycles using low-cost materials.
Most existing batteries are unsafe and non-functional around fluids like sweat and water.
Researchers from University of British Columbia designed batteries specifically for wearable tech.
Lead designer Ngoc Tan Nguyen said, “Up until now, stretchable batteries have not been washable.”
Flexible thin sheets of zinc and manganese dioxide were embedded in waterproof rubbery polymer.
Nguyen and team used zinc-Manganese instead of lithium as it is safer to be worn next to skin.
The batteries were subjected to 39 laundry cycles in home and commercial-grade washing machines.
“They came out intact and functional,” asserted Bahar Iranpour, another researcher in the study.
Research by University of British Columbia, led by Ngoc Tan Nguyen, published in Advanced Energy Materials.
