Triboelectric Nanogenerators has revolutionised the area of energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. In recent years, variety of small scale applications of triboelectric nanogenerators have been explored extensively particularly in self powered electronics, wearable and implantable devices, self-powered biosensors, human motion monitoring, location evaluation, air quality control etc. This paper discusses simulation and modelling of contact separation mode based triboelectric nanogenerator. In this work, triboelectric nanogenerators are simulated in COMSOL to compare the voltage profile of three different triboelectric materials – Kapton, Teflon and RTV Silicone with respect to Aluminium. Also, the effect of thickness of triboelectric layer on voltage profile is studied to optimize the thickness of the films. The output voltage recorded is 75 V, 60 V and 59 V for RTV Silicone, Teflon and Kapton respectively. It was observed that with increase in thickness of triboelectric layer, output voltage first increases linearly and then starts decreasing. The future research is directed towards fabricating a robust device for realising self – powered electronic devices.

No abstract

No abstract

Wearable human motion monitoringhas become an integral part of the paradigm shift that is on the horizon in the field of healthcare for a wide variety of biomedical applications. In recent years, there has been incessant advancement in smart wearable technology capable of human motion monitoring ranging from strain sensors to piezoelectrics. This paper proposes to fabricate a Triboelectric Nanogenerator based on Vertical Contact Separation (VCS) mode with design characteristics offlexibility, low cost, simple and easy to fabricate design for real - time monitoring of human body movements. The output performance of fabricated VCS - TENG is analysed by finger tapping. In order to conduct human motion monitoring, VCS - TENG is affixed on different body parts, and the corresponding signal is analysed. The developed prototype can be further integrated with advanced electronics to deliver promising technology in the field of healthcare diagnostics and monitoring.

Energy harvesting devices have emerged as a promising technology to not only meet global energy demands but also power biomedical electronics. The dramatic advancement in self-powered biomedical electronics used for monitoring and treatment of severe diseases is part of a paradigm shift that is on the horizon. The review paper highlights recent progress on energy harvesters for scavenging energy to realize self-powered systems. The emphasis is mainly on piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators addressing the basic operating principle, electrical model, design techniques, newly developed materials and their performance as well as associated typical applications. Herein, piezoelectric devices have been compared on basis of their materials, energy conversion efficiency, piezoelectric coefficient and power harvesting circuit. In addition, the recent advances of hybrid nanogenerators in terms of its biomedical applications are also highlighted. Finally, the conclusions and future prospects towards self-powered systems for implantable and wearable medical electronic devices are discussed for effective health monitoring, bio-sensing and clinical therapy.