Wood Fiber-Based Triboelectric Material with High Filtration Efficiency and Antibacterial Properties and Its Respiratory Monitoring in Mask

Self-powered wearable electronic products have rapidly advanced in the fields of sensing and health monitoring, presenting greater challenges for triboelectric materials. The limited surface polarity and structural defects in wood fibers restrict their potential as substitutes for petroleum-based materials. This study used bagasse fiber as the raw material and explored various methods, including functionalizing cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) with polydopamine (PDA), in situ embedding of silver particles, filtration, and freeze-drying. These methods aimed to enhance the triboelectric output, antibacterial properties, and filtration properties of lignocellulosic materials. The Ag/PDA/CNF-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) demonstrated an open-circuit voltage of 211 V and a short-circuit current of 18.1 μA. An aerogel prepared by freeze-drying the Ag/PDA/CNF material, combined with a polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber structure fabricated by electrospinning, constitutes the TENG unit. A self-powered respiratory detection mask was created using this combination, achieving a filtration efficiency of 94.23% for 0.3 μm particles and an antibacterial rate exceeding 99%. In addition, it effectively responded to respiratory frequency signals of slow breathing, normal breathing, and shortness of breath, with the output electrical signal correlating with the respiratory frequency. This study considerably contributes to advancing wood fiber-based triboelectric materials as alternatives to petroleum-derived materials in self-powered wearable electronic products for medical applications.