Sustainable Energy Source for Wearable Electronics Based on Multilayer Elastomeric Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Wearable electronics have attracted a wide range of attention with various functions due to the development of semiconductor industry and information technology. This work focuses on a triboelectric nanogenerator-based self-charging power system as a continuous energy source for wearable electronics. The triboelectric nanogenerator has a multilayer elastomeric structure with closely stacked arches as basic functional units. Owing to material and structural innovations, this triboelectric nanogenerator performs outstanding electric output with the maximum volume charge density approximate to 0.055 C m(-3) and practical properties for energy harvesting from body motions. Utilizing the triboelectric nanogenerator as outsole to harvest energy from walking or jogging, a pair of shoes is fabricated with the maximum equivalent charge current of each shoe being around 16.2 mu A and specific fitness functions realized on each shoe separately without complex connections.