3D-Printing Water-Soluble Channels Filled with Liquid Metal for Recyclable and Cuttable Wireless Power Sheet
🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the limitations of conventional two-dimensional wireless power transfer (WPT) systems, which lose functionality upon cutting or damage and are difficult to recycle. The authors propose a flexible, cuttable WPT sheet based on an H-tree coil architecture, integrated with three-dimensionally printed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) water-soluble channels filled with liquid metal. The system maintains operational integrity in any remaining region after arbitrary cutting and enables efficient liquid metal recovery through PVA dissolution. Operating at a resonant frequency of 6.78 MHz, the device exhibits a quality factor exceeding 55 and stable electrical performance after 100 bending cycles. Furthermore, it achieves a 98% liquid metal recovery rate over four dissolution–reconstruction cycles without degradation in electrical characteristics. This work represents the first integration of H-tree wiring with soluble-channel technology, demonstrating a high-performance, flexible WPT platform that is both cuttable and repeatedly recyclable.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
A recyclable and cuttable wireless power transfer (WPT) sheet is proposed, enabled by H-tree wiring and water-soluble channels filled with liquid metal (LM). Conventional 2D WPT systems lose their functionality when physically damaged or modified. The H-tree wiring pattern maintains the operation of the remaining coils even after the outer region of the sheet is cut away. The LM can be recovered by dissolving 3D-printed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) channels in water. The sheet dimensions were experimentally optimized, and $Q$-factor over 55 was achieved at 6.78 MHz. The sheet maintained its bending stiffness $\left((2.54 \pm 0.10) \times 10^{-6} \mathrm{N} \cdot \mathrm{m}^{2}\right)$ and electrical resistance ($7.6 \pm 0.3 \mathrm{m} \Omega$) during 100 bending cycles. After four dissolution-refabrication cycles, 98% of the LM was recovered with stable volume resistivity ($0.32 \pm 0.01 \mathrm{m} \Omega \cdot \text{mm}$) and contact resistance ($1.7 \pm 1.3 \mathrm{m} \Omega$). The WPT sheet can be integrated into everyday objects and enables long-term, continuous operation of surrounding electronic devices, contributing to IoT society and ambient computing.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
wireless power transfer
recyclability
cuttable electronics
liquid metal
sustainable electronics
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
liquid metal
water-soluble channels
H-tree wiring
recyclable electronics
3D printing
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