Versatile hybrid transparent triboelectric nanogenerator-solar cell device enables efficient energy harvesting and personal handwriting recognition

Abstract

The continuous energy supply for wearable electronic devices, including health monitoring sensors and human-machine interface devices, poses a significant challenge to their development. Renewable energy sources, such as nanogenerators and solar cells, offer promising solutions to this challenge. In this study, we explore the potential of a versatile device based on a smart hybrid triboelectric nanogenerator (SH TENG) and photovoltaic (PV) cell for efficient energy harvesting and personal handwriting recognition. A transparent, self-cleaning, UV-protective, bidirectional, non-rigid, lightweight, ultra-durable, eco-friendly, and uniform composite of epoxy resin/ZnO/Ag nanowires-based sandwich-like TENG can produce a power density of 2.3 W m−2. Integrating SH TENG with PV led to improved energy harvesting and increased the charging voltage of the capacitor by up to 5 times. Moreover, this material is a multifunctional sensor capable of detecting temperature, humidity, pressure, handwriting content, and the writer. These features make it an intriguing candidate for e-skin applications. By employing a generalized deep neural network (DNN) model, our device can accurately recognize handwritten letters, numbers, and personal identification with a high level of precision, achieving an accuracy of 97 %. This device can function as an intelligent touch screen with dual-purpose energy production and detection, paving the way for developing highly efficient and sustainable wearable electronic devices.