Strong and flame-retardant wood-based triboelectric nanogenerators toward self-powered building fire protection

In the new era of industry 4.0, improving the energy efficiency and safety is of vital importance for the construction of intelligent building. Here, we report a strong and flame-retardant wood-based triboelectric nanogenerator (FW-TENG) for self-powered building fire protection. Based on a three-step method involving delignification, infiltration with bentonite nanosheets, followed by hot-pressing, the mechanical strength and flame retardancy can be greatly improved. Compared to the natural wood, the flame-retardant wood exhibits a 7.7-fold enhancement in strength, 32% reduction in peak heat release rate, as well as self-extinguishing property. The resulting FW-TENG is further used to develop the self-powered intelligent wireless fire monitoring and escape route guidance system for fire rescue and evacuation. This work extends the application area of self-powered systems to building fire protection, and may greatly promote the development of intelligent buildings and smart cities. • Based on a simple three-step method, a strong and flame-retardant wood-based triboelectric nanogenerator is reported. • The TENG-based self-powered intelligent wireless fire monitoring and escape route guidance system are developed. • This work will provide a promising way for self-powered fire rescue and the construction of energy-efficient buildings.