Nanopatterned Fiber Based Textile Triboelectiric Nanogenerator

There has been increasing demand for highly efficient portable energy harvesters due to the development and mass consumption of portable electronic devices. Photovoltaic, thermoelectric, piezoelectric and triboelectric energy scavengers have become strong candidates for portable energy harvesters in future self-powered portable electronic device applications.Among these, Triboelectric energy harvesters that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy have recently attracted attention. Compared to time-constrained photovoltaic, piezoelectric energy harvesters are not limited in time and space because mechanical energy sources such as body movement, heartbeat, blood flow, wind, tide, low-frequency seismic vibrations, and sound from the surrounding environment are prevalent.

In this study, we report the textile based as a substrate for foldable and wearable triboelectric power generators. Nano-size pattened PDMS on the conductive woven fabric substrate by dip-coated method. For practical applications, nano patterned conductive woven fabric based power generator showed the continuous driving of the liquid crystal display screen and light emitting diode successfully. Furthermore, textile based power generator showed high sensitivity acts low applying for of under 1kgf.

The results presented here may create new possibilities for energy harvesting wearable devices, particularly in applications that require wearability and flexibility.