Solvent‐Resistant Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Energy‐Harvesting and Self‐Powered Sensors

Abstract

Wearable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted attention owing to their ability to harvest energy from the surrounding environment without maintenance. Herein, polyetherimide–Al2O3 (PAl) and polyvinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene (PVDF‐HFP, PH) nanofiber membranes were used as tribo‐positive and tribo‐negative materials, respectively. Phytic acid‐doped polyaniline (PANI)/cotton fabric (PPCF) and ethylenediamine (EDA)‐crosslinked PAl (EPAl) nanofiber membranes were used as triboelectrode and triboencapsulation materials, respectively. The result showed that when the PAl–PH‐based TENG was shaped as a circle with a radius of 1 cm, under the pressure of 50 N, and the frequency of 0.5 Hz, the open‐circuit voltage (Voc) and short‐circuit current (Isc) reached the highest value of 66.6 V and −93.4 to 110.1 nA, respectively. Moreover, the PH‐based TENG could be used as a fabric sensor to detect fabric composition and as a sensor‐inductive switch for light bulbs or beeping warning devices. When the PAl–PH‐based TENG was shaped as a 5 × 5 cm2 rectangle, a 33 μF capacitor could be charged to 15 V in 28 s. Interestingly, compared to PAl nanofiber membranes, EPAl nanofiber membranes exhibited good dyeing properties and excellent solvent resistance. The PPCF exhibited <5% resistance change after washing, bending, and stretching.