Humidity-Resistant, Conductive Fabric-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Efficient Energy Harvesting and Human–Machine Interaction Sensing

Abstract

With the rapid development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), the exploration of self-powered, flexible, and wearable electronic devices has attracted widespread attention. However, the choice of tribomaterials and high humidity environment have a significant impact on the triboelectricity of TENG. Therefore, we prepared a composite fabric (HPC) with superhydrophobic and conductive properties, which was used simultaneously as a tribopositive material and electrode for the construction of promising wearable TENGs. Specifically, the loading of polydopamine, carbon nanotubes, and polypyrrole on the surface of the cotton fabric makes it have not only conductivity but also enhanced tribopositive polarity. Then, cetyltrimethoxysilane was selected to modify it to obtain superhydrophobicity. Compared with the common TENGs with a separate tribolayer and electrode, the integrated HPC-TENG shows the advantages of simpler structure and lighter wear. Moreover, compared with the unmodified fabric-based TENG, the performance of the proposed HPC-TENG is improved by nearly 7.2 times, and the maximum power density can reach 2.6 W m −2 . This remarkable output can be attributed to the combination of strong electron-giving groups, high electrical conductivity, and abundant micro-and nanorough structure of the HPC fabric. More importantly, due to the water repellency of the fabric surface, the high output performance can be maintained under high humidity conditions. In addition, HPC-TENG has potential applications as pressure sensors for human motion status monitoring and multichannel sensing for smart game blanket entertainment. The newly designed HPC-TENG offers a new strategy for the development of superhydrophobic fabrics with an electrical conductivity, energy harvesting, and self-powered sensor.

Substrate-Independent Superhydrophobic Coating Capable of Photothermal-Induced Repairability for Multiple Damages Fabricated via Simple Blade Coating

“…Figure b shows the high-resolution C 1s spectrum of the C/P/P coating, which is deconvoluted into five peaks centered at 284.2, 284.8, 285.8, 286.6, and 291.1 eV. These five peaks correspond to C–Si, C–C­(H), C–N, C–O, and −CF 2 groups, − respectively. The C–O group may result from the oil pollution caused by vacuum system of XPS equipment; the C–N and C–Si groups arise from the modified MWCNTs and PDMS, respectively; the −CF 2 group stems from the PVDF; and the C–C­(H) group stems from PVDF, PDMS and modified MWCNTs.…”

Advanced Applications of Porous Materials in Triboelectric Nanogenerator Self-Powered Sensors

“…Compared to unmodified fabric-based TENGs, the HPC-TENG exhibited a nearly 7.2-fold improvement in performance. Furthermore, the HPC-TENG can be used as a pressure sensor for monitoring human motion states and as a multi-channel sensor for smart game blankets [ 52 ].…”

“…( f ) Fabric-based TENG woven with biofabricated superhydrophobic BC fibers for energy harvesting and motion detection [ 51 ]. ( g ) Moisture-resistant, conductive fabric-based TENG for efficient energy harvesting and human–computer interaction sensing [ 52 ]. ( h ) Deep learning-assisted mask sensor network for adaptive respiratory monitoring [ 53 ].…”

Smart Textiles: A Review and Bibliometric Mapping

“…Triboelectric nanogenerators are nanodevices that harvest biomechanical energy from human body movement [216,217]; they couple the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction to convert mechanical energy into electricity [41]. Proper choice of materials and structures enhances performance [216,218,219]. Many designs and combinations of materials have been developed and fabricated.…”