The development of wearable and large‐area fabric energy harvester and sensor has received great attention due to their promising applications in next‐generation autonomous and wearable healthcare technologies. Here, a new type of “single” thread‐based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and its uses in elastically textile‐based energy harvesting and sensing have been demonstrated. The energy‐harvesting thread composed by one silicone‐rubber‐coated stainless‐steel thread can extract energy during contact with skin. With sewing the energy‐harvesting thread into a serpentine shape on an elastic textile, a highly stretchable and scalable TENG textile is realized to scavenge various kinds of human‐motion energy. The collected energy is capable to sustainably power a commercial smart watch. Moreover, the simplified single triboelectric thread can be applied in a wide range of thread‐based self‐powered and active sensing uses, including gesture sensing, human‐interactive interfaces, and human physiological signal monitoring. After integration with microcontrollers, more complicated systems, such as wireless wearable keyboards and smart beds, are demonstrated. These results show that the newly designed single‐thread‐based TENG, with the advantage of interactive, responsive, sewable, and conformal features, can meet application needs of a vast variety of fields, ranging from wearable and stretchable energy harvesters to smart cloth‐based articles.
Abstract Rapid progress in nanotechnology allows us to develop a large number of innovative wearables such as activity trackers, advanced textiles, and healthcare devices. However, manufacturing processes for desirable nanostructure are usually complex and expensive. Moreover, materials used for these devices are mainly derived from nonrenewable resources. Therefore, it poses growing problems for living environment, and causes incompatible discomfort for human beings with long‐time wearing. Here, a self‐powered cellulose fiber based triboelectric nanogenerator (cf‐TENG) system is presented through developing 1D eco‐friendly cellulose microfibers/nanofibers (CMFs/CNFs) into 2D CMFs/CNFs/Ag hierarchical nanostructure. Silver nanofibers membrane is successfully introduced into the cf‐TENG system by using CMFs/CNFs as template, which shows excellent antibacterial activity. Enabled by its desirable porous nanostructure and unique electricity generation feature, the cf‐TENG system is capable of removing PM 2.5 with high efficiency of 98.83% and monitoring breathing status without using an external power supply. This work provides a novel and sustainable strategy for self‐powered wearable electronics in healthcare applications, and furthermore paves a way for next‐generation flexible, biocompatible electronics.
We present Self-powered Paper INterfaces (SPIN) combining folding paper creases with triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Embedding TENG into paper creases, we developed a design editor and set of fabrication techniques to create paper-based interfaces that power sensors and actuators. Our SPIN design editor enables users to design their own crease pattern by changing parameters, embed power generating modules into the design, estimate total power generation, and export the files. Then following the fabrication instructions, users can cut and crease materials, and assemble them to build their own interfaces. We employ repetitive push-and-pull based embodied interactions with the mechanism of paper creases and demonstrate four application examples that show new expressive possibilities applying different scales of embodied interactions.
Abstract Developing an applicable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for train wheel energy harvesting is a key step to meet the urgent need of wheel safety monitoring. Herein, an innovative design of free‐fixed TENG (FF‐TENG) is reported, without a serious negative impact on the wheel. The key of this design is the magnets fixed on the device and bogie, providing attractive force to immobilize the stator. With a rotational structure, FF‐TENG can provide a high short‐circuit current of 55 µA, an open‐circuit voltage of 500 V, and a charge of 235 nC at a rotation speed of 400 rpm. At an external load resistance of 10 MΩ, FF‐TENG delivers the maximum power of 15.68 mW. Furthermore, the superior robustness of FF‐TENG in vibration environment is proved. In addition, a power management circuit designed by LTC 3588 is tested for more efficient capacitor charging, leading to better performance to power electronics. Finally, a self‐powered real‐time wheel temperature and wheel speed monitoring system is developed with FF‐TENG as a safety alert demo for feasibility demonstration. Given the rational structure design and high performance, this work paves a practical way for TENGs in the field of intelligent transportation.
We demonstrate the design, fabrication, evaluation, and use of a self-powered microphone that is thin, flexible, and easily manufactured. Our technology is referred to as a Self-powered Audio Triboelectric Ultra-thin Rollable Nanogenerator (SATURN) microphone. This acoustic sensor takes advantage of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to transform vibrations into an electric signal without applying an external power source. The sound quality of the SATURN mic, in terms of acoustic sensitivity, frequency response, and directivity, is affected by a set of design parameters that we explore based on both theoretical simulation and empirical evaluation. The major advantage of this audio material sensor is that it can be manufactured simply and deployed easily to convert every-day objects and physical surfaces into microphones which can sense audio. We explore the space of potential applications for such a material as part of a self-sustainable interactive system.
Abstract Ship draft measurement is of great significance for ensuring navigation safety and facilitating ship control. In this work, a self‐powered water level sensor based on a liquid–solid tubular triboelectric nanogenerator (LST‐TENG) is proposed and analyzed. The LST‐TENG is made of multiple copper electrodes uniformly distributed along a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube. When water flows into the PTFE tube, it induces alternating flows of electrons between the main electrode and the distributed bottom electrodes. The obvious peaks in the derivative of open‐circuit voltage with respect to time are found to correspond with the electrode distribution. Then it can be utilized as a robust and sensitive indicator for detecting the water level as the number of obvious peaks in the derivative of open‐circuit voltage is directly related to the water level height. The ship draft is successfully detected using the LST‐TENG with an accuracy of 10 mm. It shows that the water level sensor has stable performance for liquid–solid interface monitoring. Therefore, this LST‐TENG is self‐powered, robust, and accurate for extensive applications in marine industry.
Accurate forecasts of wave conditions are essential for marine engineering construction, development and utilization of ocean resources, environmental protection, maritime safety and early warning of marine disasters. There are many types of wave monitoring techniques, such as wave rider buoys, acoustic Doppler current profilers, high frequency radar and remote sensing [1]. Due to each of the techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages, it is essential to choose and develop proper techniques according to the requirements and conditions of applications. These commercial wave monitoring techniques are mainly applied for routine monitoring of waves and currents in the offshore and nearshore regions [2, 3]. To enhance the environmental sensing ability of smart marine equipment, it is important to develop a highly sensitive wave sensor to monitor the interaction between ocean waves and marine equipments, such as offshore platforms and ships. In this paper, a novel wave sensor based on liquid-solid interfacing triboelectric nanogenerator (WS-TENG) is proposed and investigated. The WS-TENG is made of a long copper electrode covered by a poly-tetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) film with a microstructural surface. The effects of substrate, wave height, frequency, and water salinity on the sensitivity of the wave sensor are experimentally studied and analyzed. It is found that the output voltage peak of WS-TENG varies linearly with wave height. The WS-TENG with the electrode width of 10mm has a sensitivity of 0.023 V/mm, suggesting that the present novel sensor can sense the wave height in the millimeter range. The sensitivity would be increased further by widening the electrode, and/or enhancing the surface hydrophobicity. In contrast, the output voltage peak of WS-TENG is independent of wave frequency. Furthermore, the output voltage decays dramatically when water salinity is increased from 0 to 0.035 g mL −1 . This may be due to high ions concentration reduces induced charges in electrodes [4]. It is worth to note that the linear relationship between the output voltage of WS-TENG and wave height is still valid at different salinities. In a simulated wave tank, the wave sensor is successfully used for real-time monitoring of the wave around the simulated offshore platform. Therefore, the wave sensor provides an alternative and self-powered approach to monitor waves’ characteristics. References: Pandian, P.K., et al., An overview of recent technologies on wave and current measurement in coastal and marine applications. Oceanography and Marine Science, 2010. 1(1): p. 001-010. Marimon, M.C., et al., Development and Evaluation of Wave Sensor Nodes for Ocean Wave Monitoring. IEEE Systems Journal, 2015. 9(1): p. 292-302. Babanin, A.V., et al., Measurement of wind waves by means of a buoy accelerometer wave gauge. Physical Oceanography, 1993. 4(5): p. 399-407. Pan, L., et al., Liquid-FEP-based U-tube triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting water-wave energy. Nano Research, 2018. 11(8): p. 4062-4073.
Abstract Robots that can move, feel, and respond like organisms will bring revolutionary impact to today's technologies. Soft robots with organism‐like adaptive bodies have shown great potential in vast robot–human and robot–environment applications. Developing skin‐like sensory devices allows them to naturally sense and interact with environment. Also, it would be better if the capabilities to feel can be active, like real skin. However, challenges in the complicated structures, incompatible moduli, poor stretchability and sensitivity, large driving voltage, and power dissipation hinder applicability of conventional technologies. Here, various actively perceivable and responsive soft robots are enabled by self‐powered active triboelectric robotic skins (tribo‐skins) that simultaneously possess excellent stretchability and excellent sensitivity in the low‐pressure regime. The tribo‐skins can actively sense proximity, contact, and pressure to external stimuli via self‐generating electricity. The driving energy comes from a natural triboelectrification effect involving the cooperation of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. The perfect integration of the tribo‐skins and soft actuators enables soft robots to perform various actively sensing and interactive tasks including actively perceiving their muscle motions, working states, textile's dampness, and even subtle human physiological signals. Moreover, the self‐generating signals can drive optoelectronic devices for visual communication and be processed for diverse sophisticated uses.
Abstract Vibration is a common mechanical phenomenon and possesses mechanical energy in ambient environment, which can serve as a sustainable source of power for equipment and devices if it can be effectively collected. In the present work, a novel soft and robust triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) made of a silicone rubber‐spring helical structure with nanocomposite‐based elastomeric electrodes is proposed. Such a spring based TENG (S‐TENG) structure operates in the contact‐separation mode upon vibrating and can effectively convert mechanical energy from ambient excitation into electrical energy. The two fundamental vibration modes resulting from the vertical and horizontal excitation are analyzed theoretically, numerically, and experimentally. Under the resonant states of the S‐TENG, its peak power density is found to be 240 and 45 mW m −2 with an external load of 10 MΩ and an acceleration amplitude of 23 m s −2 . Additionally, the dependence of the S‐TENG's output signal on the ambient excitation can be used as a prime self‐powered active vibration sensor that can be applied to monitor the acceleration and frequency of the ambient excitation. Therefore, the newly designed S‐TENG has a great potential in harvesting arbitrary directional vibration energy and serving as a self‐powered vibration sensor.
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