Holistically Engineered Polymer–Polymer and Polymer–Ion Interactions in Biocompatible Polyvinyl Alcohol Blends for High‐Performance Triboelectric Devices in Self‐Powered Wearable Cardiovascular Monitorings

Abstract

The capability of sensor systems to efficiently scavenge their operational power from stray, weak environmental energies through sustainable pathways could enable viable schemes for self‐powered health diagnostics and therapeutics. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) can effectively transform the otherwise wasted environmental, mechanical energy into electrical power. Recent advances in TENGs have resulted in a significant boost in output performance. However, obstacles hindering the development of efficient triboelectric devices based on biocompatible materials continue to prevail. Being one of the most widely used polymers for biomedical applications, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) presents exciting opportunities for biocompatible, wearable TENGs. Here, the holistic engineering and systematic characterization of the impact of molecular and ionic fillers on PVA blends’ triboelectric performance is presented for the first time. Triboelectric devices built with optimized PVA‐gelatin composite films exhibit stable and robust triboelectricity outputs. Such wearable devices can detect the imperceptible skin deformation induced by the human pulse and capture the cardiovascular information encoded in the pulse signals with high fidelity. The gained fundamental understanding and demonstrated capabilities enable the rational design and holistic engineering of novel materials for more capable biocompatible triboelectric devices that can continuously monitor vital physiological signals for self‐powered health diagnostics and therapeutics.

Flourishing energy harvesters for future body sensor network: from single to multiple energy sources

“… (B) An optimized PVA-gelatin composite film for high-performance TENG, capable of detecting subtle skin deformation induced by human pulse. Reprinted from ref ( Wang et al., 2020c ) with permission, Copyright©2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. (C) A user-interactive electronic skin to map touch via electrical readout and visual output concurrently. Reprinted from ref ( Zhao et al., 2020 ) with permission, Copyright©2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science.…”

“… (B) An optimized PVA-gelatin composite film for high-performance TENG, capable of detecting subtle skin deformation induced by human pulse. Reprinted from ref ( Wang et al., 2020c ) with permission, Copyright©2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. …”

“…Over the years, wearable TENGs have undergone immense development in diversified applications, ranging from harvesting biomechanical energy, physiological signal sensing, activity monitoring, and human-machine interfacing ( Dong et al., 2020b ; Jin et al., 2020b ; Zhu et al., 2020a ). Figure 2 B displays a thin TENG that can be conformally attached to the skin, with the aid of the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend film ( Wang et al., 2020c ). The triboelectric sensor consisting of the optimized PVA-gelatin composite exhibits good and stable triboelectric outputs and is capable of detecting subtle skin deformations induced by the pule owing to its superior mechanical deformability.…”

Triboelectric nanogenerator based on degradable materials

“… 24 At the same time, Ruoxing Wang et al have produced a DBTENG by different doped PVA films and PI, which can sense the stress of 0.6 N/cm 2 on the skin and accurately monitor the pulse(Figure 7H). 85 …”

Low cost exoskeleton manipulator using bidirectional triboelectric sensors enhanced multiple degree of freedom sensory system

“…In addition to the aforementioned commercialized HMIs, the newly developed flexible wearable sensor and e-skins offer promising technology to further enhance the intelligence and functionality of HMIs [22][23][24][25][26][27][28] . For instance, a dense array of capacitive tactile finger sensors was fabricated with a temperature sensing function 29 .…”