Manchester Tech Scientists Turn to Red Wine

Scientists set to kick-start a wearable technology revolution using flexible fibres and acids from red wine.

19:05 17 July 2019

Scientists from The University of Manchester are developing durable and flexible wearable devices using tannic acid extracted from red wine, coffee or black tea. The use of tannins improves mechanical properties of materials and increases the devices’ life span. 

 

 

 

The team has developed wearable devices that can withstand repeated bending and folding to avoid tiny micro cracks. This allows for more long-lasting integrated technology.

 

 

 

Dr Xuqing Liu who led the research team said: "We are using this method to develop new flexible, breathable, wearable devices. The main research objective of our group is to develop comfortable wearable devices for flexible human-machine interface.

 

 

 

“Traditional conductive material suffers from weak bonding to the fibers which can result in low conductivity. When red wine, or coffee, or black tea, is spilled on a dress, it's difficult to get rid of these stains. The main reason is that they all contain tannic acid, which can firmly adsorb the material on the surface of the fiber. This good adhesion is exactly what we need for durable wearable, conductive devices.”