A Highly Wearable Single-electrode Mode Triboelectric Nanogenerator Made of Flexible Polyvinylidene Fluoride Transparent Film for Muscular Motion Monitoring

Abstract

The present study reports the design and fabrication of a single-electrode mode triboelectric nanogenerator (TENGs) which can overcome the drawbacks present in the conventional triboelectric nanogenerator which works on two electrodes and two dielectric layers. The proposed concept eliminates the dual electrodes thereby reducing the complexity of the device and the higher fabrication cost enabling the device to be used for extended applications. The fabricated TENG device uses Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the active material that is capable to generate the electrical response upon contact with the human skin when the device was worn on the skin. The device generates the highest electrical output of ~ 50 V and a current of ~ 600 nA under a 1 Hz operating frequency. The device also shows good stability and durability by powering continuously for 300 s without any interruption in its electrical output response. The device shows its applicability in utilizing it powering low-power electronic devices, bio-mechanical energy scavenging upon actuated by hand and foot tapping, as well as demonstrated for the self-powered muscular monitoring system. The study greatly expands the opportunity of using TENGs for applications in the field of healthcare, bio-medical, and the Internet of Things (IoT).