Self‐Healing, Flexible, and Tailorable Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Self‐Powered Sensors based on Thermal Effect of Infrared Radiation

Abstract

Self-healing triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with flexibility, robustness, and conformability are highly desirable for promising flexible and wearable devices, which can serve as a durable, stable, and renewable power supply, as well as a self-powered sensor. Herein, an entirely self-healing, flexible, and tailorable TENG is designed as a wearable sensor to monitor human motion, with infrared radiation from skin to promote self-healing after being broken based on thermal effect of infrared radiation. Human skin is a natural infrared radiation emitter, providing favorable conditions for the device to function efficiently. The reversible imine bonds and quadruple hydrogen bonding (UPy) moieties are introduced into polymer networks to construct self-healable electrification layer. UPy-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes are further incorporated into healable polymer to obtain conductive nanocomposite. Driven by the dynamic bonds, the designed and synthesized materials show excellent intrinsic self-healing and shape-tailorable features. Moreover, there is a robust interface bonding in the TENG devices due to the similar healable networks between electrification layer and electrode. The output electric performances of the self-healable TENG devices can almost restore their original state when the damage of the devices occurs. This work presents a novel strategy for flexible devices, contributing to future sustainable energy and wearable electronics.

Self‐Healing Soft Sensors: From Material Design to Implementation

“…Other non‐autonomic healable triboelectric nanogenerator‐based sensors that are based on a self‐healing polymer and conductive nanofillers (CNTs and AgNWs) have recently been reported. [ 117,118 ] Interestingly, one of them was based on non‐autonomic polymer filled with MWCNTs, which can absorb the IR emissions from the skin, leading to local heating and healing. [ 118 ] This mechanism is very promising for obtaining healing materials and components for wearable sensing devices attached to the human body.…”

“…Despite good performance, the obtained voltages (1 < V) are typically low compared to those obtained by recent triboelectric based devices (<100 V). [ 115–118 ]…”

Triboelectric Effect Enabled Self-Powered, Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Opportunities for Developing ASSURED and REASSURED Devices

“…It is expected that the use of ultrasonication-based techniques for the synthesis of polymeric nanowires could enhance the voltage output, making the self-powered monitoring of joint movement much more sensitive [ 105 ]. Further work by the same group has demonstrated the development of soft, self-healing 3-TENG based to detect human motion [ 106 ] and more recently 4-D printed shape memory polymer based TENGs [ 107 ]. The self-healing polymer-based networks themselves were crosslinked by two kinds of dynamic bonds (imine bond and UPy).…”

“…The self-healing polymer-based networks themselves were crosslinked by two kinds of dynamic bonds (imine bond and UPy). Poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (PEA) or bis(3-aminopropyl) terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (H 2 N-PDMS-NH 2 ) was selected as soft segment for reaction with 2(6-isocyanatohexylaminocarbonylamino)-6-methyl-4(1H) pyrimidinone (UPy-NCO) and 1, 1, 1-tris[(4-formylphenoxy) methyl]ethane (FPME) to obtain flexible and healable polyazomethine (IU-PAM) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (IU-PDMS) elastomers based on imine and UPy units [ 106 ]. Such a TENG could be used as a self-powered finger-joint motion sensor.…”

Self-healing polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposite: A review

“…Self-healing polymers and nanocomposites have been applied in fields such as sensor, actuators, coatings, microelectronics, adhesives, biomedical areas as drug delivery, tissue engineering, etc. 10–14 This review overviews the developments and applications of self-healing polymers and derived nanocomposites. Particularly, polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposites have been studied due to rapid healing efficiency.…”