Economical Polypropylene‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self‐Powered Biomechanical Sensor Application

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) as self‐powered devices are a promising solution for powering sensors of the ever‐expanding Internet of things. However, this potential will be fulfilled only if robust and efficient TENGs are fabricated with economical materials. Herein, a simple and facile approach for fabricating flexible, economical polypropylene‐based TENGs (PP‐TENGs) using readily accessible, inexpensive, and robust material is proposed. The “arch” and “sandwich” shaped structural designs are configured, and their comparative electrical characteristics are studied. The arch shape PP‐TENG is modeled to simulate the potential distribution and the charge transfer mechanism between the frictional layers. The PP‐TENGs are activated by hand tapping, and their electrical characteristics, such as open‐circuit voltage, short‐circuit current, and output power, are studied. To demonstrate their practical utility, PP‐TENG is used to charge capacitors and power light‐emitting diodes. Further, the stored energy of a capacitor is utilized to power an electronic smartwatch and a digital calculator. In addition, the arch‐shaped PP‐TENG is employed as a self‐powered biomechanical sensor, that is, capable of tracking signals induced by different human body motions. Thus, the present work demonstrates the simple fabrication and cost‐effectiveness of PP‐TENG for futuristic applications in battery‐free portable electronics and biomechanical sensors.