Design, manufacturing and applications of wearable triboelectric nanogenerators

Amid the rapid flourishment of wearable electronics, the issue of power consumption has become increasingly prominent. With an extremely simple and universal configuration, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged and performed huge advantages in converting low-frequency mechanical energy into electricity. Thus, TENGs in wearable forms are expected to capture the energy in human motions and in-situ drive wearable devices. Moreover, such a type of energy conversion allows us to excavate the rich information behind the output signals. In this review, we first introduce the basic design of TENGs suitable for wearable devices, including material selection, process modulation and optimization of the form factor. Then, we elaborate on three key roles that wearable TENGs play in the current era of smart Internet of Things (IOT), i.e., active sensors, actuators, and human-machine interfaces. Next, we summarize the progress of wearable TENG-powered systems at the performance level and process level. In the end, we make concrete prospects for this technology to move further into the actual market and approach the general public lives.