Preparation and sensing performance of wet-spun fabric triboelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting

Abstract Flexible, wearable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) monitoring human movement and health signals have received more attention recently. In particular, developing a flexible TENG combining stress, strain, electrical output performance and durability becomes the current research focus. Herein, a highly stretchable, self-powered coaxial yarn TENGs were manufactured using a low-cost, efficient continuous wet-spinning method. Carbon nanotube/conductive thermoplastic polyurethane (MWCNT/CTPU) and polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene were utilized for the coaxial fibers conductive layers and dielectric layers, respectively. Fibers were continuously collected over a length of 10 m. Excellent electrical output with an open-circuit voltage ( V oc) of 11.4 V, short-circuit current ( I sc) of 114.8 nA, and short-circuit transfer charge ( Q sc) of 6.1 nC was achieved. In addition, fabric TENGs with different two and three dimensional structures were further prepared by the developed coaxial fibers. The corresponding electrical output properties and practical performance were discussed. Results showed that the four-layer three-dimensional angle interlocking structure exhibited the optimal performance with an open-circuit voltage ( V oc) of 38.4 V, short-circuit current ( I sc) of 451.5 nA, and short-circuit transfer charge ( Q sc) of 23.1 nC.