Recent Progress in Self-Powered Sensors Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has subverted people’s lives, causing the rapid development of sensor technologies. However, traditional sensor energy sources, like batteries, suffer from the pollution problem and the limited lifetime for powering widely implemented electronics or sensors. Therefore, it is essential to obtain self-powered sensors integrated with renewable energy harvesters. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which can convert the surrounding mechanical energy into electrical energy based on the surface triboelectrification effect, was born of this background. This paper systematically introduces the working principle of the TENG-based self-powered sensor, including the triboelectrification effect, Maxwell’s displacement current, and quantitative analysis method. Meanwhile, this paper also reviews the recent application of TENG in different fields and summarizes the future development and current problems of TENG. We believe that there will be a rise of TENG-based self-powered sensors in the future.

Recent Progress of Energy-Storage-Device-Integrated Sensing Systems

“…Triboelectric tactile sensors: Triboelectric nanogenerators (TNGs) are also extensively used in self-powered tactile sensing systems by harvesting mechanical energy since the first prototype was reported in 2012 [ 17 , 86 , 87 ]. For instance, Chen et al [ 33 ] developed a textile triboelectric sensor and further integrated it with a Bluetooth transmission module, realizing real-time wireless external pressure monitoring through the cellphone application.…”

“…To solve the above problem, self-powered sensing systems without external power supplies, including energy-harvester-integrated systems and energy-storage-device-integrated systems, are regarded as effective methods and have received great attention. In energy-harvester-integrated systems, various forms of energy can be converted into electrical energy in a specific way to drive the sensors, such as the triboelectric and piezoelectric effects for mechanical energy [ 17 , 18 ], the photovoltaic effect for solar energy [ 19 ], and the thermoelectric and pyroelectric effects for thermal energy [ 20 ]. However, the energy-harvesters usually need to be exposed to specific energy sources to work, so their application scenarios are greatly limited, and the low energy conversion rate leads to poor stability and continuity.…”

Self-Powered and Autonomous Vibrational Wake-Up System Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators and MEMS Switch

“…Thus, the TENG can provide sustainable energy for the low power consumption embedded devices [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Meanwhile, the TENG can also be used as an active sensor to monitor the state of the surrounding environment, like wind speed and vibration amplitude and acceleration [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

A Capsule-Shaped Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-Powered Health Monitoring of Traffic Facilities

“…Because of its low cost and high sensitivity, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which can convert distributed, irregular, and low-frequency mechanical energy into electrical energy, has gotten a lot of interest, and it has been applied as a self-powered sensor in various fields. − The designed TENGs can detect the state of movement of the human body , or each joint − as well as the condition of balls such as Ping-Pong balls in the field of sports. − TENG also can collect wind energy, − hydro-energy, − ocean energy, − and other natural energy; otherwise, it can be used to monitor the environment . In addition, TENG has been discovered to be valuable in the medical field for monitoring patients’ physiological conditions and helping them in their recovery. − TENG is also active in the field of construction and road traffic health monitoring. − It has been used to monitor the vibration status of bridges, indicating that TENG does have some potential in the field of traffic facility health monitoring.…”