A permeable triboelectric fiber mat with 35 V cm⁻² voltage output for wearable wireless sensing electronics

Abstract

Textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators have emerged as a promising solution for self-powered wearable electronics, owing to their exceptional comfort derived from the inherent flexibility of textiles, coupled with their remarkable capability to efficiently harvest low-frequency energy from human motions. However, one primary challenge lies in how to enhance output and management efficiency without compromising comfort to meet the high-power consumption demands of electronics. Herein, a permeable triboelectric nanogenerator (pTENG) is reported with a voltage output exceeding 35 V cm−2 while maintaining breathability. Such a high output of this pTENG is attributed to the enhanced dielectric constant, facilitated by the uniform distribution of liquid metal nanoparticles in the electrospun composite fiber mat. With a specially designed energy management module, the self-powering system based on pTENG can achieve 10 times faster charging speed than those regulated only by rectifiers. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, a garment integrating a pTENG, an energy management module, a temperature sensor, and a wireless transmitter is developed to form a self-powered wireless temperature sensing system, which can sense and transmit temperature data to a relay terminal module. This integration reduces reliance on external power while enabling real-time wireless health monitoring, highlighting the great potential of body area networks in personalized healthcare.