Self-Healable Triboelectric Nanogenerators: Marriage between Self-Healing Polymer Chemistry and Triboelectric Devices

Based on the triboelectrification and electrostatic induction coupling, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, showing a promising potential in the fields of micro/nano energy and self-powered sensors applications. However, the devices are prone to malfunction due to fatigue and damage, limiting their development and applications. In this review, according to the working modes and operational malfunctions as well as the possible solutions, it is proposed that a robust TENG device can be constructed from three perspectives: self-healing friction layers, self-healing electrodes, and self-healing whole devices. Based on the structure, suitable environment, and self-healing materials, the design ideas and fabrication approaches of self-healing TENGs in recent years are summarized in detail. Finally, the development of self-healing TENGs in energy harvesting and self-powered sensors is outlined. It is the wish to provide insights and guidance for the application design of self-healing TENGs in the future.     

Mechanically Robust Silver Nanowires Network for Triboelectric Nanogenerators

The authors develop a mechanically robust silver nanowires (AgNWs) electrode platform for use in flexible and stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The embedding of an AgNWs network into a photocurable or thermocurable polymeric matrix dramatically enhances the mechanical robustness of the flexible and stretchable TENG electrodes while maintaining a highly efficient triboelectric performance. The AgNWs/polymeric matrix electrode is fabricated in four steps: (i) the AgNWs networks are formed on a hydrophobic glass substrate; (ii) a laminating photocurable or thermocurable prepolymer film is applied to the developed AgNWs network; (iii) the polymeric matrix is crosslinked by UV exposure or thermal treatment; and (iv) the AgNWs‐embedded polymeric matrix is delaminated from the glass substrate. The AgNWs‐embedded polymeric matrix electrodes with four different sheet resistances, controlled by varying the AgNWs network deposition density, are deployed in TENG devices. The authors find that the potential difference between the two contact surfaces of the AgNWs network‐embedded polymer matrix electrodes and the nylon (or perfluoroalkoxy alkane) governs the output triboelectric performances of the devices, rather than the sheet resistance. Both Kelvin probe force microscopy and numerical simulations strongly support these observations.     

Elastic-Connection and Soft-Contact Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Superior Durability and Efficiency

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has received tremendous attention in ambient energy harvesting, especially for ocean wave energy. However, the technology is generally challenged to obtain excellent durability and high efficiency simultaneously, which primarily overshadows their further industrial-scale applications. Here, a dual-mode and frequency multiplied TENG with ultrahigh durability and efficiency for ultralow frequency mechanical energy harvesting via the elastic connection and soft contact design is proposed. By introducing the spring and flexible dielectric fluff to the novel pendulum-like structural design, the surface triboelectric charges of TENG are replenished in soft contact mode under the intermittent mechanical excitation, while the robustness and durability are enhanced in non-contact working mode. The fabricated TENG results in a continuous electrical output for 65 s by one stimulus with a high energy conversion efficiency, as well as negligible change of output performance after a total of 2 000 000 cycles. Moreover, integrated with the power management circuit, the TENG array is demonstrated to drive the electronics by effectively harvesting wind and water wave energy as a sustainable energy source. This work paves a new pathway to enhance the robustness, durability, and efficiency of the TENG that resolves the bottleneck of its practical applications and industrialization.     

Robust Solid-Liquid Triboelectric Nanogenerators: Mechanisms,Strategies and Applications

Solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerators (SL-TENGs) are a new technology that combines contact electrification (CE) and electrostatic induction to collect clean energy stored in natural water. Considering their unique advantages of high energy density, wide selection of materials and being suitable for large-scale promotion, they have attracted more and more attention in recent years, and numerous studies have shown their great potential in various applications. Many critical applications of SL-TENGs inevitably involve sustained and stable high electrical output. To achieve stable output performance and long cycle life in these applications, the adaptability of SL-TENGs to material selection, structural design, and working environment is necessary. Therefore, the construction of SL-TENGs matching different applications has become a critical research direction in TENGs. This review provides a historical summary of the development of SL-TENGs in the past few years and analyzes the key factors affecting their electrical output performance. The exciting achievements of different constructions of SL-TENGs for practical applications is also demonstrated such as energy harvesting, self-powered sensing, and self-powered cathodic protection. Finally, the development prospects of SL-TENGs and the significant challenges for their further development is discussed.     

Multifunctional and Physically Transient Supercapacitors,Triboelectric Nanogenerators,and Capacitive Sensors

Electronic waste (e-waste) grows in parallel with the increasing need for consumer electronics. This, unfortunately, is leading to pollution and massive ecological problems worldwide. A solution to this problem is the use of transient electronics. While transiency of a few components such as transistors and batteries have been proposed already, it is crucial to have all components in electronic devices to be transient. Therefore, the transiency of more electronic components should be demonstrated to alleviate the e-waste problem. Herein, multifunctional nanocomposite electrodes are fabricated using poly(vinyl alcohol), carbon black, and activated carbon. These simple electrodes are then used to fabricate physically transient supercapacitors, triboelectric nanogenerators, and capacitive sensors. Transient supercapacitors are used numerous times with excellent supercapacitive behavior before being discarded, which show promise as an energy storage component for transient systems. The fabricated transient triboelectric nanogenerators are used to harvest mechanical energy, eliminated the need for an external power supply, paving the way to self-powered devices, such as a touchpad as demonstrated herein. The fabricated transient capacitive sensors, on the other hand, have shown long linear sensitivities and offered waste-free monitoring of physiological signals and body motions.     

Theoretical Investigation and Structural Optimization of Single‐Electrode Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Single‐electrode triboelectric nanogenerators (SETENGs) significantly expand the application of triboelectric nanogenerators in various circumstances, such as touch‐pad technologies. In this work, a theoretical model of SETENGs is presented with in‐depth interpretation and analysis of their working principle. Electrostatic shield effect from the primary electrode is the main consideration in the design of such SETENGs. On the basis of this analysis, the impacts of two important structural parameters, that is, the electrode gap distance and the area size, on the output performance are theoretically investigated. An optimized electrode gap distance and an optimized area size are observed to provide a maximum transit output power. Parallel connection of multiple SETENGs with micro‐scale size and relatively larger spacing should be utilized as the scaling‐up strategy. The discussion of the basic working principle and the influence of structural parameters on the whole performance of the device can serve as an important guidance for rational design of the device structure towards the optimum output in specific applications.     

Flexible and Stretchable Fiber-Shaped Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Biomechanical Monitoring and Human-Interactive Sensing

Wearable, flexible, and even stretchable tactile sensors, such as various types of electronic skin, have attracted extensive attention, which can adapt to complex and irregular surfaces, maximize the matching of wearable devices, and conformally apply onto human organs. However, it is a great challenge to simultaneously achieve breathability, permeability, and comfortability for their development. Herein, mitigating the problem by miniaturizing and integrating the sensors is tried. Highly flexible and stretchable coaxial structure fiber-shaped triboelectric nanogenerators (F-TENGs) with a diameter of 0.63 mm are created by orderly depositing conductive material of silver nanowires/carbon nanotubes and encapsulated polydimethylsiloxane onto the stretchable spandex fiber. As a self-powered multifunctional sensor, the resulting composite fiber can convert mechanical stimuli into electrical signals without affecting the normal human body. Moreover, the F-TENGs can be easily integrated into traditional textiles to form tactile sensor arrays. Through the tactile sensor arrays, the real-time tactile trajectory and pressure distribution can be precisely mapped. This work may provide a new method to fabricate fiber-based pressure sensors with high sensitivity and stretchability, which have great application prospects in personal healthcare monitoring and human–machine interactions.     

MoSe2 Enhanced Raindrop Triboelectric Nanogenerators and Its Energy Conversion Analysis

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are considered one of the most effective methods for harvesting irregular and low-frequency raindrop energy. In this work, molybdenum selenide (MoSe₂) nanosheets act as intermediate layers for improving droplet-based TENG performance. Consequently, without surface etching process, the short-circuit current (I_sc) and open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of the TENG can reach as high as 1.2 mA and 120 V, respectively. Furthermore, precise energy analysis based on an optimization model for input energy calculation is carried out, allowing conversion efficiency to be calculated under diverse conditions. Finally, an all-solid supercapacitor is fabricated for integration with the TENG. An intelligent wireless sensing system, powered by the integrated TENG and capacitor, is demonstrated for monitoring environmental information. This study provides new insights into intermediate-layer materials' selection and action mechanisms. It fills a gap in the research on a precise model of theoretical energy conversion efficiency calculation. The integrated devices and sensing applications will provide strategies for creating smart cities.     

Electrically Responsive Materials and Devices Directly Driven by the High Voltage of Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Smart materials with electrically responsive characteristics and devices relying on different electrostatic effects can be directly driven by triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The open circuit voltage from a TENG can easily reach thousands of volts with a separation distance of a few millimeters and this high output voltage can be used to effectively drive or control some devices with high internal resistance. This kind of combination is the most straightforward way for achieving a self‐powered smart system. Hence, a detailed survey of electrically responsive materials and devices that can be successfully combined with TENG is summarized, including dielectric elastomers, piezoelectric materials, ferroelectric materials, electrostatic manipulators, electrostatic air cleaners, and field emission and mass spectrometers. Moreover, key factors in determining suitable materials or devices to work with TENG are clarified and an in‐depth discussion of the current challenges related to these combined systems is provided. With the cost‐effectiveness and simple manufacturing process, these TENG‐based composite systems have great application prospects in the field of smart mechanics, human–machine interaction systems, intelligent storage systems, self‐powered microfluidic chips, portable mass spectrometers, and so on.     

Enhancing Output Power of Cylindrical Triboelectric Nanogenerators by Segmentation Design and Multilayer Integration

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a newly invented technology that is effective for harvesting ambient mechanical energy for portable electronics, self‐powered sensor networks, etc. Here, by introducing segmentation and multilayer integration into the cylindrical TENG, the generator's output is enhanced significantly. With a four‐layer and thirty‐segment configuration, the TENG produces a short‐circuit current of 86 μA (13.5 μA m^?2) and power of 4.3 mW (676 mW m^?2) at a rotating speed of 600 rpm, which are respectively over 70 and 15 times higher than those of the one‐layer and one‐segment structure. This makes the TENG a sufficient power supply for conventional electronics, such as light bulbs and temperature sensors. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the segmentation design is a perfect self‐power management technique to automatically lower the TENG's output voltage and increase its output current without scarifying the output power. The fractal geometry is an effective way to maximize the TENG's contact surface area and thereby the output performance.     

Dielectric Modulated Cellulose Paper/PDMS‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Wireless Transmission and Electropolymerization Applications

Achieving high output performance is the key in the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for future versatile applications. In this study, a novel TENG assembled with porous cellulose paper and polydimethylsiloxane is demonstrated. Through dielectric modulation of the friction materials by the nanoparticles (i.e., BaTiO₃, Ag), the triboelectric outputs increase significantly with the permittivity increase, which is attributed to the enhancement of the charge trapping capability and the surface charge density of the friction materials. The dielectric modulated TENG demonstrates a high output voltage of 88 V and a current of 8.3 µA, corresponding to an output power of 141 µW. Acting as a sensor unit, the TENG can successfully operate in a wireless transmission system, which can remotely monitor the machine operation and deliver the messages associated with finger movements. Moreover, the TENG can also perform as an efficient power source in an electropolymerization system for electropolymerizing polyaniline on a carbon nanotube electrode, holding a great potential to synthesize a high capacitance electrode for supercapacitors. This work provides a simple and efficient way to construct high performance TENGs and promotes their practical applications in the fields of wireless transmission and electropolymerization systems.     

Stretchable,Washable, and Ultrathin Triboelectric Nanogenerators as Skin-Like Highly Sensitive Self-Powered Haptic Sensors

Accompanying the boom in multifunctional wearable electronics, flexible, sustainable, and wearable power sources are facing great challenges. Here, a stretchable, washable, and ultrathin skin-inspired triboelectric nanogenerator (SI-TENG) to harvest human motion energy and act as a highly sensitive self-powered haptic sensor is reported. With the optimized material selections and structure design, the SI-TENG is bestowed with some merits, such as stretchability ( ≈ 800%), ultrathin ( ≈ 89 µ m), and light-weight ( ≈ 0.23 g), which conformally attach on human skin without disturbing its contact. A stretchable composite electrode, which is formed by homogenously intertwining silver nanowires (AgNWs) with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiber networks, is fabricated through synchronous electrospinning of TPU and electrospraying of AgNWs. Based on the triboelectrification effect, the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and power density of the SI-TENG with a contact area of 2 × 2 cm² and an applied force of 8 N can reach 95 V, 0.3 µ A, and 6 mW m⁻², respectively. By integrating the signal-processing circuits, the SI-TENG with excellent energy harvesting and self-powered sensing capability is demonstrated as a haptic sensor array to detect human actions. The SI-TENG exhibits extensive applications in the fields of human–machine interface and security systems.     

Zeolitic Imidazole Framework: Metal–Organic Framework Subfamily Members for Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF), a subfamily of metal–organic framework (MOF), offers excellent chemical and thermal stability in addition to other MOF advantages. The triboelectric series predominantly consist of few metals and mainly polymers that are not suitable for the development of sensors with high selectivity and specificity. The development of multifunctional, tunable materials is of utmost importance for extending the applications of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). The TENG based on the ZIF subfamily materials (ZIF‐7, ZIF‐9, ZIF‐11, and ZIF‐12) is reported here. The surface roughness, structural, morphological, and surface potential analysis reveals the detailed characteristics of the ZIF family members. The ZIFs and Kapton are used as triboelectric layers for the ZIF‐TENG fabrication. The device is analyzed in detail for its electrical performance (voltage, current, charge, stability, load matching analysis, and capacitor charging). The ZIF‐7 TENG generates the highest output of 60 V and 1.1 µA in vertical contact‐separation mode. Finally, various low‐power electronics are successfully driven with the capacitor charged by the output of the ZIF‐7 TENG.     

The Rising of Fiber Constructed Piezo/Triboelectric Nanogenerators: From Material Selections,Fabrication Techniques to Emerging Applications

Piezo/triboelectric nanogenerators (PTNGs) have become the research frontier in many cutting-edge applications, which open up promising possibilities for broad prospects. Fiber materials are the ideal candidate for constructing high-performance PTNGs owing to the compelling features of lightweight, programmable structure, favorable softness, and brilliant breathability. To this end, working mechanisms, material selections, structural designs and fabrication methods of fiber constructed PTNGs are comprehensively presented. An in-depth analysis of emerging applications ranging from intelligent clothing, smart home, and personalized medicine to artificial intelligence is thoughtfully demonstrated. Furthermore, the current problems and potential challenges that hinder their large-scale commercial applications are systematically discussed, laying emphasis on the future development direction of fiber constructed PTNGs. It is expected that this review will supply the audience with some universal strategies and fresh ideas to conduct deep research on fiber constructed PTNGs toward better performance.     

Fully Elastic and Metal‐Free Tactile Sensors for Detecting both Normal and Tangential Forces Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators

A tactile sensor should be able to detect both normal and tangential forces, which is mandatory for simulating human hands, but this fundamental function has been overlooked by most of the previous studies. Here, based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with single‐electrode mode, the fully elastic and metal‐free tactile sensor that can detect both normal and tangential forces is proposed. With tiny burr arrays on the contact interface to facilitate the elastic deformation, the detected normal pressure by the device can reach to 1.5 MPa with a sensitivity of about 51.43 kPa V⁻¹, and a large range of tangential forces can be detected ranging from 0.5 to 40 N with rough sensitivity of 0.83 N V⁻¹ (0.5–3 N) and 2.50 N V⁻¹ (3–40 N). Meanwhile, the applied tangential forces from different directions can also be clearly distinguished by the four‐partitioned electrode structure. Moreover, a shield film is coated on the top surface of the device, which can screen the electrostatic interference and enhance the repeatability of the device. The demonstrated concept of this self‐powered tactile sensor has excellent applicability for industrial robotics, human–machine interactions, artificial intelligence, etc.     

Rolling Friction Enhanced Free‐Standing Triboelectric Nanogenerators and their Applications in Self‐Powered Electrochemical Recovery Systems

Heavy metals contained in wastewater are one of the most serious pollutions in natural resources. A self‐powered electrochemical recovery system for collecting Cu ions in wastewater by incorporating a rolling friction enhanced freestanding triboelectric nanogenerator (RF‐TENG) is developed here. The RF‐TENG utilizes integrated cylindrical surfaces using the conjunction of rolling electrification and freestanding electrostatic induction, which shows outstanding output performance and ultrarobust stability. By using the kinetic energy of flowing water, a collection efficiency of up to 80% for Cu²⁺ ions in wastewater has been achieved. Self‐powered electrochemical systems are one of the most promising applications of TENGs for independent and sustainable driving of electrochemical reactions without the need for any additional power supply. This research is a substantial advancement towards the practical applications of triboelectric nanogenerators and self‐powered electrochemical systems.     

A Self-Healing Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on Feathers for Sensing and Energy Harvesting

A useful direction to solve the energy problem is the effective repeated use of biomaterial for mechanical energy collection and sensing applications. Here, a feather-based single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator (F-STENG) by only sputtering copper atoms on the feathers are presented. The feather of F-STENG, as a natural material, has environmental friendliness, which is different from the polymer materials of other triboelectric nanogenerators. F-STENG has super durability due to its feather structure self-healing property. The device has a high output voltage of 90 V and an output current of 3.5 µA. After breaking and self-healing lots of times, the output performance is also 80% of the original. F-STENG has a high sensitivity to temperature, humidity, and wind speed, and the sensitivity is 0.50 V °C⁻¹, -0.98 V RH⁻¹, and 1.67 μA m⁻¹ s⁻¹. The output power of F-STENG is 0.62 mW g⁻¹, which can realize global positioning and photographing to solve the module energy consumption problem. F-STENG provides an effective way for the application of self-powered sensors and equipment in military, industrial, transportation, and daily life.