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Updated: Mar 18, 2026
Investigating the Potential of Singly Curved Thin Piezoelectric Transducers for Energy Harvesting and Structural Health Monitoring
Published on: November 14, 2025
A highly shape-adaptive, stretchable design based on conductive liquid for energy harvesting and self-powered
Fang Yi1, Xiaofeng Wang2, Simiao Niu3
1State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, and Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of New Energy Materials and Technologies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0245, USA.
Abstract:
The rapid growth of deformable and stretchable electronics calls for a deformable and stretchable power source. We report a scalable approach for energy harvesters and self-powered sensors that can be highly deformable and stretchable. With conductive liquid contained in a polymer cover, a shape-adaptive triboelectric nanogenerator (saTENG) unit can effectively harvest energy in various working modes. The saTENG can maintain its performance under a strain of as large as 300%. The saTENG is so flexible that it can be conformed to any three-dimensional and curvilinear surface. We demonstrate applications of the saTENG as a wearable power source and self-powered sensor to monitor biomechanical motion. A bracelet-like saTENG worn on the wrist can light up more than 80 light-emitting diodes. Owing to the highly scalable manufacturing process, the saTENG can be easily applied for large-area energy harvesting. In addition, the saTENG can be extended to extract energy from mechanical motion using flowing water as the electrode. This approach provides a new prospect for deformable and stretchable power sources, as well as self-powered sensors, and has potential applications in various areas such as robotics, biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology, and entertainment.
