Triboelectric Fluid Sensors: Principles, Development, and Perspectives

Fluid energy is one of the most common, widely distributed, and significant renewable energy sources globally, which generally exists in gases and liquids such as wind energy, airflow energy, droplet energy, water flow energy, and wave energy. Since Wang's research group first invented the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) in 2012, it has been widely utilized and developed rapidly as a new energy conversion method and as a promising sensing technology. Especially in fluid sensing, the TENGs get a lot of attention. This paper comprehensively reviews the latest research on triboelectric fluid sensors (TFSs). First, the fundamental theories and basic operation modes of TFSs are briefly introduced. Then, the research status of TFSs in different functions, structural design, and output performance is summarized according to the form of fluid energy (gas-based, liquid-based, and multi-phase flow-based). In addition, the application of TFSs in different fields is also discussed in this paper. Finally, this research presents its views on the challenges and future development trends of TFSs.

Automated summary

This paper comprehensively reviews the latest research on triboelectric fluid sensors, including the fundamental theories, basic operation modes, research status, and applications. The paper also presents views on the future development trends and challenges of this technology.