A Facile Strategy for Textile-Based Highly Sensitive and Water-Resistant Triboelectric Nanogenerator

The demand for real-time physiological monitoring drives innovation in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). TENGs offer promise for real-time dynamic monitoring, but they are often complicated to manufacture, have low sensitivity, and are easily disturbed by ambient humidity. Herein, a fabric-based integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (F-TENG) is developed, employing waterborne polyurethane (WPU) as both a water-resistant encapsulation and friction layer, and polypyrrole (PPy) as a friction and conductive layer. This design simplifies the fabrication process while simultaneously improving the device's resistance to environmental factors. The micro-filament structure enables localized contact-separation during deformation, initiating the triboelectric effect, while the 3D architecture amplifies local strain, further enhancing sensitivity to weak signals. F-TENG demonstrates effective voltage output during carotid and respiratory monitoring, highlighting its capability to detect subtle physiological signals. Furthermore, F-TENG maintains stable performance under humid conditions, retaining 78.78% of its output voltage as relative humidity increased from 20% to 80%. When implants in the moist environment of a rat's leg, F-TENG exhibits a notable output of 21 V. In addition, the inherent antibacterial properties of F-TENG further enhance its application potential. These findings position F-TENG as a robust and versatile platform for dynamic monitoring, wearable electronics, and integrated diagnostic and therapeutic systems.