A transparent and degradable bacterial cellulose-based film for triboelectric nanogenerator: Efficient biomechanical energy harvesting and human health monitoring

In this paper, an eco-friendly and biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator (SBB-TENG) is proposed based on bacterial cellulose (BC), sodium alginate (SA) with the introduction of barium titanate (BTO) nanoparticles. While all the composite membranes can be fully decomposed by cellulase solution within 7 hours, the electrical properties of SBB-TENG are significantly improved due to the synergistic effect of enhanced dielectric constant and surface roughness of the composite membrane. Compared with SA/BC-based TENG (SBC-TENG), the voltage and current of SBB-TENGs are increased by 174% and 193%, respectively. In addition, the as-designed SBB TENGs are capable of serving as sensors for biomechanical monitoring, touch sensing and signal control, which greatly contributes to the development of high-performance, green and low-cost TENGs on the base of natural biodegradable materials.