A flexible triboelectric nanogenerator based on PVA/PTT/LiCl conductive hydrogel for gait monitoring in basketball

Recently, wearable flexible sensors for intelligent sports monitoring have attracted much attention. In this work, we designed the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT)/LiCl hydrogel to act as the flexible conductive of triboelectric nanogenerator (PPL-TENG). Significantly, the PPL-TENG device has high transparency and stretchability, demonstrating excellent ability in complex mechanical energy harvesting. From the results, the PPL-TENG achieve the maximum power density of 159.6 µW cm−2. In addition, the PVA/PTT/LiCl hydrogel exhibits good mechanical properties, thus endowing PPL-TENG devices with excellent application value. Also, the electrical output of PPL-TENG exhibits good stability and excellent fast charging capability. In addition to mechanical energy harvesting, PPL-TENG also has excellent sensing performance and can be used as a self-powered sensor for basketball motion monitoring. After experimental testing, PPL-TENG can recognize the characteristics of body joints and gait in basketball, which will play an auxiliary role in basketball sports. This research will promote the development of intelligent wearable sports devices.