Flexible corrugated triboelectric nanogenerators for efficient biomechanical energy harvesting and human motion monitoring

The growing demand for the sustainable energy supply of portable wearable electronic devices has recently attracted much attention. The emergence of an environmentally friendly, renewable, and sustainable energy-supplying triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) provides new potential and promising solution. However, it requires excellent structural stability and superior properties in practical applications. In this paper, a novel flexible corrugated triboelectric nanogenerator (C-TENG) with incredible elasticity, excellent durability and output performance for efficient energy harvesting and self-powered sensing has been designed and developed. For enhancement of electric performance, a study has also been carried out for investigating different structural parameters for the optimized performance of C-TENGs. The as-made C-TENGs have shown excellent and stable electric performance, outstanding mechanical durability and washing capability. The highly self-resilient structure of C-TENG enables its open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and power density to reach 480 V, 137 μA and 486 μW/cm², respectively. Furthermore, the functional applications of C-TENG as smart insoles and intelligent carpets have been demonstrated. An intelligent system has also been developed to detect human motion and monitor people's stream scale on the intelligent carpet. This study proposes a new perspective for the structural design of TENGs and advanced applications in intelligent sensing.