Textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators with high-performance via optimized functional elastomer composited tribomaterials as wearable power source

Wearable power sources with high performance are attracting intensive attention, owing to their great potential in new-generation wearable electronics. Herein, we proposed a composited fabric with flexible functional elastomer layers ([email protected]) and employed it as a negative tribomaterial in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The [email protected] consists of a low-temperature vulcanized silicone (LTV) electrification layer, CNTs/Ecoflex nanocomposite layer, super-soft Ecoflex layer and conductive fabric substrate, which play critical roles on the output enhancement of [email protected] TENG (abbreviated as [email protected]). The effect of the thickness of the Ecoflex layer and CNTs content in the nanocomposite layer on the electrical performance of [email protected] were systematically investigated. The [email protected] with 180 μm thick Ecoflex layer and 1.6 wt% CNTs content was realized as an optimal sample to obtain optimum output signals. The high outputs (~490 V, ~43 μA, ~70 nC, 1.6 mW/cm2) were obtained from the optimal [email protected] (2.5 × 2.5 cm2) under small force (~16 N) and low frequency (~1.5 Hz). The flexible [email protected] can power for wearable electronics by harvesting biomechanical energy and operate in dual-electrodes mode ([email protected]) or single-electrode mode ([email protected]). Especially, the power glove made of [email protected] can contact with various daily-used objects for human motion energy harvesting. The durability and washability of [email protected] were also performed, exhibiting excellent stability even under harsh and complex conditions. All these merits of the [email protected] not only provide a promising strategy for exploring high-performance wearable power source but also show great potential for applications in portable electronics and electronic textiles.