Yi-Cheng Wang

A Highly Stretchable and Washable All-Yarn-Based Self-Charging Knitting Power Textile Composed of Fiber Triboelectric Nanogenerators and Supercapacitors

Rapid advancements in stretchable and multifunctional wearable electronics impose a challenge on corresponding power devices that they should have comparable portability and stretchability. Here, we report a highly stretchable and washable all-yarn-based self-charging knitting power textile that enables both biomechanical energy harvesting and simultaneously energy storing by hybridizing triboelectrical nanogenerator (TENG) and supercapacitor (SC) into one fabric. With the weft-knitting technique, the power textile is qualified with high elasticity, flexibility, and stretchability, which can adapt to complex mechanical deformations. The knitting TENG fabric is able to generate electric energy with a maximum instantaneous peak power density of ∼85 mW·m-2 and light up at least 124 light-emitting diodes. The all-solid-state symmetrical yarn SC exhibits lightweight, good capacitance, high flexibility, and excellent mechanical and long-term stability, which is suitable for wearable energy storage devices. The assembled knitting power textile is capable of sustainably driving wearable electronics (for example, a calculator or temperature-humidity meter) with energy converted from human motions. Our work provides more opportunities for stretchable multifunctional power sources and potential applications in wearable electronics.

3D Orthogonal Woven Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Effective Biomechanical Energy Harvesting and as Self‐Powered Active Motion Sensors

The development of wearable and large-area energy-harvesting textiles has received intensive attention due to their promising applications in next-generation wearable functional electronics. However, the limited power outputs of conventional textiles have largely hindered their development. Here, in combination with the stainless steel/polyester fiber blended yarn, the polydimethylsiloxane-coated energy-harvesting yarn, and nonconductive binding yarn, a high-power-output textile triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with 3D orthogonal woven structure is developed for effective biomechanical energy harvesting and active motion signal tracking. Based on the advanced 3D structural design, the maximum peak power density of 3D textile can reach 263.36 mW m-2 under the tapping frequency of 3 Hz, which is several times more than that of conventional 2D textile TENGs. Besides, its collected power is capable of lighting up a warning indicator, sustainably charging a commercial capacitor, and powering a smart watch. The 3D textile TENG can also be used as a self-powered active motion sensor to constantly monitor the movement signals of human body. Furthermore, a smart dancing blanket is designed to simultaneously convert biomechanical energy and perceive body movement. This work provides a new direction for multifunctional self-powered textiles with potential applications in wearable electronics, home security, and personalized healthcare.

Shape Memory Polymers for Body Motion Energy Harvesting and Self‐Powered Mechanosensing

Growing demand in portable electronics raises a requirement to electronic devices being stretchable, deformable, and durable, for which functional polymers are ideal choices of materials. Here, the first transformable smart energy harvester and self-powered mechanosensation sensor using shape memory polymers is demonstrated. The device is based on the mechanism of a flexible triboelectric nanogenerator using the thermally triggered shape transformation of organic materials for effectively harvesting mechanical energy. This work paves a new direction for functional polymers, especially in the field of mechanosensation for potential applications in areas such as soft robotics, biomedical devices, and wearable electronics.

On the Electron‐Transfer Mechanism in the Contact‐Electrification Effect

A long debate on the charge identity and the associated mechanisms occurring in contact-electrification (CE) (or triboelectrification) has persisted for many decades, while a conclusive model has not yet been reached for explaining this phenomenon known for more than 2600 years! Here, a new method is reported to quantitatively investigate real-time charge transfer in CE via triboelectric nanogenerator as a function of temperature, which reveals that electron transfer is the dominant process for CE between two inorganic solids. A study on the surface charge density evolution with time at various high temperatures is consistent with the electron thermionic emission theory for triboelectric pairs composed of Ti-SiO2 and Ti-Al2 O3 . Moreover, it is found that a potential barrier exists at the surface that prevents the charges generated by CE from flowing back to the solid where they are escaping from the surface after the contacting. This pinpoints the main reason why the charges generated in CE are readily retained by the material as electrostatic charges for hours at room temperature. Furthermore, an electron-cloud-potential-well model is proposed based on the electron-emission-dominatedcharge-transfer mechanism, which can be generally applied to explain all types of CE in conventional materials.

Liquid-FEP-based U-tube triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting water-wave energy

Harvesting ambient mechanical energy is a key technology for realizing self-powered electronics. With advantages of stability and durability, a liquid–solid-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has recently drawn much attention. However, the impacts of liquid properties on the TENG performance and the related working principle are still unclear. We assembled herein a U-tube TENG based on the liquid–solid mode and applied 11 liquids to study the effects of liquid properties on the TENG output performance. The results confirmed that the key factors influencing the output are polarity, dielectric constant, and affinity to fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). Among the 11 liquids, the pure water-based U-tube TENG exhibited the best output with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 81.7 V and a short-circuit current (Isc) of 0.26 μA for the shaking mode (0.5 Hz), which can further increase to 93.0 V and 0.48 μA, respectively, for the horizontal shifting mode (1.25 Hz). The U-tube TENG can be utilized as a self-powered concentration sensor (component concentration or metalion concentration) for an aqueous solution with an accuracy higher than 92%. Finally, an upgraded sandwich-like water-FEP U-tube TENG was applied to harvest water-wave energy, showing a high output with Voc of 350 V, Isc of 1.75 μA, and power density of 2.04 W/m3. We successfully lighted up 60 LEDs and powered a temperature–humidity meter. Given its high output performance, the water-FEP U-tube TENG is a very promising approach for harvesting water-wave energy for self-powered electronics.

SATURN: A Thin and Flexible Self-powered Microphone Leveraging Triboelectric Nanogenerator

We demonstrate the design, fabrication, evaluation, and use of a self-powered microphone that is thin, flexible, and easily manufactured. Our technology is referred to as a Self-powered Audio Triboelectric Ultra-thin Rollable Nanogenerator (SATURN) microphone. This acoustic sensor takes advantage of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to transform vibrations into an electric signal without applying an external power source. The sound quality of the SATURN mic, in terms of acoustic sensitivity, frequency response, and directivity, is affected by a set of design parameters that we explore based on both theoretical simulation and empirical evaluation. The major advantage of this audio material sensor is that it can be manufactured simply and deployed easily to convert every-day objects and physical surfaces into microphones which can sense audio. We explore the space of potential applications for such a material as part of a self-sustainable interactive system.

Dynamic Electronic Doping for Correlated Oxides by a Triboelectric Nanogenerator

The metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO2 ) is exceptionally sensitive to charge density and electron orbital occupancy. Thus three-terminal field-effect transistors with VO2 channels are widely adopted to control the phase transition by external gating voltage. However, current leakage, electrical breakdown, or interfacial electrochemical reactions may be inevitable if conventional solid dielectrics or ionic-liquid layers are used, which possibly induce Joule heating or doping in the VO2 layer and make the voltage-controlled phase transition more complex. Here, a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a VO2 film are combined for a novel TENG-VO2 device, which can overcome the abovementioned challenges and achieve electron-doping-induced phase modulation. By taking advantage of the TENG structure, electrons can be induced in the VO2 channel and thus adjust the electronic states of the VO2 , simultaneously. The modulation degree of the VO2 resistance depends on the temperature, and the major variation occurs when the temperature is in the phase-transition region. The accumulation of electrons in the VO2 channel also is simulated by finite element analysis, and the electron doping mechanism is verified by theoretical calculations. The results provide a promising approach to develop a novel type of tribotronic transistor and new electronic doping technology.