Advanced triboelectric nanogenerator with multi-mode energy harvesting and anti-impact properties for smart glove and wearable e-textile

Environmental hazardous stimuli including strong electromagnetic field and impact force were always harmful to human beings. Developing functional triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with universally harvesting various energy and anti-impact effect may be an effective strategy to collect energy as well as protect human beings from danger. Thus, a miniaturized all-in-one TENG with high structural durability, anti-impact and multi-mode harvesting energy from compression, swaying and magnetic field was developed by assembling shear thickening fluid (STF) and magneto-sensitive films. TENG yielded maximum power density of 27.05 mW/m2 with the voltage of 10.40 V at 10 MΩ under compression. It also sensed and collected tiny STF flowing energy under non-contact mode. Besides, high magnetic-sensitive effect endowed TENG with magnetic dependent programmable shapes which enabled it to harvest non-contact rubbing/deformation energy. More importantly, the device with STF exhibited high anti-impact properties which could resist and dissipate harsh collision force from 1390 N to 409 N, demonstrating excellent safeguarding properties for TENG and human wearers. This versatile device also showed reliable sensing properties to various external magnetic field, human motions, contacted materials and impact forces. In addition, a wearable TENG-based smart glove as a self-powered functional sensor presented the ability of precisely mapping finger joints. Finally, newly-designed Kevlar/TENG-based e-textile arrays with 95% impact-force dissipating and multi-fields display performance was proposed. Thus, this work opened a new perspective for the development of functional TENGs as wearable electronic devices in universally energy-scavenging and safeguarding areas.