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

TLDR

Wearable, flexible, and stretchable tactile sensors such as electronic skin have attracted attention for their ability to conform to irregular surfaces, yet achieving breathability, permeability, and comfort remains a challenge. This work seeks to address these challenges by miniaturizing and integrating sensors into fiber‑shaped triboelectric nanogenerators, providing a new method for high‑sensitivity, stretchable pressure sensors applicable to personal healthcare monitoring and human–machine interaction. The authors fabricate 0.63 mm diameter, highly flexible coaxial fiber‑shaped triboelectric nanogenerators by layering silver nanowires/carbon nanotubes and PDMS on stretchable spandex, enabling self‑powered conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals and easy integration into textile arrays. The sensor arrays can precisely map real‑time tactile trajectories and pressure distributions.

Abstract

Abstract 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.