Boosting a Power Performance of a Hybrid Nanogenerator via Frictional Heat Combining a Triboelectricity and Thermoelectricity toward Advanced Smart Sensors

Abstract

AbstractThe demand for a well‐equipped healthcare system is increasing due to the requirement of instant treatment in emergency situations. Particularly, patients are advised to employ fall‐detection sensors and touch‐activated emergency alarms to reduce the mortality rate arising from unexpected falls and emergency conditions. Herein, smart sensors are successfully developed by scavenging the human motions and heat energy with the combination of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a thermoelectric generator (TEG). The frictional heat energy produced from the contact and separation of TENG can be utilized as an input source for TEG. Thus, the hybrid tribo‐thermoelectric nanogenerator (HTTNG) generates two electrical outputs with a single primary input. As evidence of this, the flexible HTTNG delivers high output due to the synergistic effect of two generators, that is, through the high output voltage and current in TENG and TEG, respectively. The feasibility of HTTNG as a touch‐activated emergency alarm and a human fall‐detection sensor is successfully demonstrated. Furthermore, the HTTNG can be a promising self‐powered sensing device without any additional power source as well as a power supplier in the Internet of Things era. This hybrid nanogenerator can pave the way for efficient utilization in healthcare systems.