Recent progress in the fabrication and processing of triboelectric yarns

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have recently enjoyed rapid development due to their easy fabrication, stable outputs, and wide range of applications. By combining conventional textiles with TENGs, textile-based TENGs (t-TENGs) can be employed with wearable devices and smart textiles. The t-TENGs with a yarn structure, triboelectric yarns, can be directly used to conduct energy conversion and be processed into other energy-harvesting textile structures due to their lightweight, flexibility, and processability. This review summarizes the research progress in triboelectric yarns. It starts with a systematic discussion of the working mechanism and manufacturing materials of triboelectric yarns. Subsequently, we discuss the four major methods of constructing triboelectric yarns including twisting/wrapping, coating, electrospinning, and other/composite methods. In particular, details about the energy harvesting performance, the triboelectric yarns' physical properties, and weaving/knitting capability are given. Finally, comments and perspectives are provided for the future design of high-performance triboelectric yarns.