Engineers have created a cooling hydrogel material that can convert excess heat from electronic gadgets into electricity.
The thin hydrogel film, that's made from a polymer and water, can draw heat faraway from the batteries of smartphones, tablets, and computers, so they don't overheat.
Researchers say their new device, that's yet to be added to the market, is the first to both cool devices and convert waste heat into power.
Researchers, whose research is published in ACS' Nano Letters, tested the film on a mobile cellphone battery and noted its temperature dropped by 68ºF (38ºC).
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How it works
The hydrogel could save frequent cellphone users from having to buy new devices while being more environmentally friendly regularly.
The strip consists of a polyacrylamide framework - an organic polymer current used as a suspending agent, lubricant, and oil recovery agent - is infused with water and ions.
The hydrogen patch would then generate electricity once two of the ions - ferricyanide, and ferrocyanide - will heat up. Hence, the strip would adjust its shape depending on the temperature once it's attached to the phone battery.
Meanwhile, water in the hydrogel evaporates, which has a cooling effect on the patch. After use, the hydrogel regenerates itself by absorbing water from the encompassing air.
Water in the hydrogel can self-adaptively break out from the hydrogel and re-enter by evaporation and absorption cycle - a temperature-controlled 'thermodynamic' cycle.
To demonstrate the new strip, the researchers connected it to a smartphone battery during fast charging.
Some of the waste energy was converted into five microwatts (μW) of power as the battery temperature decreases. Some of the extra heat was also transformed into electricity that would be used to power the device.
Dr. Xuejiao Hu, study co-author from Wuhan University in China, told DailyMail the reduced working temperature ensures the safe operation of the battery.
"The electricity harvested [from the gadget] is [enough] for monitoring the battery or controlling the cooling system," he said.
Effects of overcharging phones
One of the errors many people make with their cellphone is "overcharging" it, which can have dire outcomes on battery life. While the possibility of overheating or overcharging remains, experts urge the users not to leave your phone connected to its charger for too long.
Using electronic gadgets for too long can cause it to overheat, which could slow them down, harm their parts, or maybe cause them to explode or catch fire.
Experts said the heat generated by batteries, lights, and processors reduces the efficiency, reliability, and lifespan of gadgets - and wastes energy.
Cadex Electronics marketing communications manager John Bradshaw told Time your phone will lose bits of battery life here and there if you leave your phone charged overnight.
Such a "trickle charge" attempts to preserve battery at 100% to compensate for the small bit of price that your cellphone only certainly loses on its own.
So your phone is continuously being bounced between a full charge and a bit under a full charge. These trickle charge can lead to higher ambient temperatures for your cellphone, that could reduce potential overtime.
