As interest in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) continues to increase, some studies have reported that certain limitations exist in TENG due to high potential difference, resulting in air breakdown and field emission. In addition, with known limitations such as extremely low voltage at low external resistance, a breakthrough is required to overcome the limitations of TENG. Here, a new TENG mechanism is reported, utilizing ion‐enhanced field emission (IEFE). Using a simple IEFE‐inducing layer, which consists of a charge accumulation layer and a metal‐to‐metal contact point, electrons can flow directly to a counter electrode while generating high‐output power. Under vertical contact–separation input, the generated root mean square (RMS) power of IEFE‐TENG is 635% higher compared to conventional TENG. As the fundamental mechanism of the IEFE‐TENG is based on installing this simple IEFE‐inducing layer, the power output of existing TENGs including sliding mode types can be boosted. This new TENG mechanism can be a new standard for metal–metal contact TENGs to effectively amplify the output power and to overcome potential limitations.

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The kinetic body motions have guided the core‐shell fabrics of wearable bioelectronics to be elastoplastic. However, the polymeric electrodes follow the trade‐off relationship between toughness and stretchability. To this end, the stress dissipation encoded silk fibroin electrode is proposed as the core electrode of wearable bioelectronics. Significantly, the high degree of intrinsic stress dissipation is realized via an amino acid crosslink. The canonical phenolic amino acid (i.e., tyrosine) of silk fibroin is engineered to bridge the secondary structures. A sufficient crosslink network is constructed when tyrosine is exposed near the amorphous strand. The stress dissipative tyrosine crosslink affords 12.5‐fold increments of toughness (4.72 to 58.9 MJ m−3) and implements the elastoplastic silk fibroin. The harmony of elastoplastic core electrodes with shell fabrics enables the wearable bioelectronics to employ mechanical performance (elastoplasticity of 750 MJ m−3) and stable electrical response. The proposed wearable is capable of assisting the effective workouts via triboelectricity. In principle, active mobility with suggested wearables potentially relieves muscular fatigues and severe injuries during daily fitness.

Energy harvesting is a method of converting energy from ambient environment into useful electrical energy. Due to the increasing number of sensors and personal electronics, energy harvesting technologies from various sources are gaining attention. Among energy-harvesting technologies, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) was introduced as a device that can effectively generate electricity from mechanical motions by contact-electrification. Particularly, liquid-solid contact TENGs, which use the liquid itself as a triboelectric material, can overcome the inevitable friction wear between two solid materials. Using a commercial aerosol hydrophobic spray, liquid-solid contact TENGs, with a superhydrophobic surface (contact angle over 160°) can be easily fabricated with only a few coating processes. To optimize the fabrication process, the open-circuit voltage of sprayed superhydrophobic surfaces was measured depending on the number of coating processes. To demonstrate the simple fabrication and applicability of this technique on random 3D surfaces, a liquid-solid contact TENG was fabricated on the brim of a cap (its complicated surface structure is due to the knitted strings). This simple sprayed-on superhydrophobic surface can be a possible solution for liquid-solid contact TENGs to be mass produced and commercialized in the future.

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The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a recent mechanical energy harvesting technology that has been attracting significant attention. Its working principle involves the combination of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. The TENG can harvest electrical energy from both solid-solid and liquid-solid contact TENGs. Due to their physical difference, triboelectric materials in the solid-solid TENG need to have high mechanical properties and the surface of the liquid-solid contact TENG should repel water. Therefore, the surface of the TENG must be versatile for applications in both solid-solid and liquid-solid contact environments. In this work, we develop a solidsolid/liquid-solid convertible TENG that has a slippery liquid-infused porous surface (SLIPS) at the top of the electrode. The SLIPS consists of a HDFS coated hierarchical Al(OH) 3 structure and fluorocarbon liquid. The convertible TENG developed in this study is capable of harvesting electricity from both solid-solid and liquid-solid contacts due to the high mechanical property of Al(OH) 3 and the water-based liquid repelling nature of the SLIPS. When the contact occurs in freestanding mode, electrical output was generated through solid-solid/liquid-solid sliding motions. The convertible TENG can harvest electricity from both solid-solid and liquid-solid contacts; thus, it can be a unified solution for TENG surface fabrication.

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