Flexible Janus Electrospun Nanofiber Films for Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerator

The traditional wearable nanogenerators are mostly assembled from the dense films that involve complex physical and chemical processes, which results in a high manufacturing cost and is hard to balance the physiological needs of human comfort. Herein, a wearable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is developed that is completely constructed from the Janus electrospun nanofiber films. This all-nanofiber-based TENG not only has ultra-lightweight and high flexibility but also exhibits excellent breathability due to its porous structure. In addition, the asymmetric conductive Janus structure also provides an effective way to improve the poor adhesion force between the electrode and electrification layer. As a self-powered device, it can generate a peak voltage of 140 V and a current of 3.8 mu A with an instantaneous power of 0.75 mW under the effective contact area of 2 x 2 cm(2). This simple but flexible and breathable TENG has huge application potential in self-powered wearable devices, which can be used to harvest various mechanical energy from daily life and realize real-time monitoring of human motions.