Self-powered smart agriculture sensing using triboelectric nanogenerators based on living plant leaves

Environmental pressure has a negative effect on plant health and productivity, so accurate monitoring of environmental pressure is of great significance for improving food production and smart agriculture. Here, composite films with good stability and humidity sensitivity are made via solution-casting process of multilayer graphene oxide (GO), spherical polyvinylsilsesquioxane (PVSQ), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Subsequently, a living plant leaf-based triboelectric nanogenerator (LPL-TENG) consisting of the GO-PVSQ/PVA composite films and the living leaves is proposed. With a maximum average power density of 90.67 mW/m-2, the LPL-TENG can drive miniature commercial electronic equipment. The LPL-TENG is able to respond linearly to plant leaf humidity with a sensitivity of about − 3.0 V/% RH without affecting plant growth. In addition, the feature of alarming at high wind speed can also be exhibited by the LPL-TENG to realize remote control. This work has broad application prospects in building smart agriculture.