Self-Gelling Quinone-Based Wearable Microbattery

Wearable power sources are envisioned since their development promises to speed up the widespread application of wearable devices in different areas, such as healthcare, smart-city management, and robotics. Here, the 4′-((9,10-anthraquinone-2-yl)oxy)butyrate (2-BEAQ), an anthraquinone derivative, is synthesized, and further applied for producing a redox-active shear-thinning hydrogel (BEAQ-gel). The gel comprises cylindrical aggregates of 2-BEAQ molecules dispersed within a water matrix, interconnected through ionic, ion-dipole, and hydrogen bonding interactions. BEAQ-gel also presents interesting rheological characteristics and composition tunability since it can be produced in a large range of concentrations. This improved redox 3D hierarchical network also makes the network capable of retaining high quantities of potassium hydroxide, thereby enhancing conductivity. By coupling BEAQ-gel with Ferricyanide the development of a wearable battery is demonstrated, which exhibits an output voltage of 0.89 V even when bent at a 180° angle, making it suitable for powering wearable devices. This work presents an innovative alternative for the production of wearable devices, from the design of the anode and cathode materials to the wearable casing and demonstrates the use of redox-active low-molecular-weight-gel (LMWG) as an active material of a microbattery giving a valuable glimpse to the further development of wearable energy storage devices.