Skin-touch-actuated textile-based triboelectric nanogenerator with black phosphorus for durable biomechanical energy harvesting

Jiaqing Xiong, Peng Cui, Xiaoliang Chen, Jiangxin Wang, Kaushik Parida, Meng‐Fang Lin, Pooi See Lee

Nature Communications · 2018 · 561 citations · 43 references

DOIFull text

Open access

Concepts

TL;DR

Textiles that harvest biomechanical energy via triboelectric effects are sought for self‑powered wearables, yet making conformable, durable fabrics with high outputs remains challenging. The authors propose a washable, skin‑touch‑actuated textile triboelectric nanogenerator to harvest energy from voluntary and involuntary body motions. They coat the textile with black phosphorus encapsulated in hydrophobic cellulose oleoyl ester nanoparticles, creating a synergistic electron‑trapping layer that ensures long‑term reliability and high triboelectricity under extreme deformation, washing, and environmental exposure. The device delivers high output of approximately 250–880 V and 0.48–1.1 µA cm⁻², demonstrating durable performance.

Abstract

Textiles that are capable of harvesting biomechanical energy via triboelectric effects are of interest for self-powered wearable electronics. Fabrication of conformable and durable textiles with high triboelectric outputs remains challenging. Here we propose a washable skin-touch-actuated textile-based triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting mechanical energy from both voluntary and involuntary body motions. Black phosphorus encapsulated with hydrophobic cellulose oleoyl ester nanoparticles serves as a synergetic electron-trapping coating, rendering a textile nanogenerator with long-term reliability and high triboelectricity regardless of various extreme deformations, severe washing, and extended environmental exposure. Considerably high output (~250-880 V, ~0.48-1.1 µA cm

References

43