Tribo-Electromagnetic Nanogenerator Based on Microstructured Polyvinyl Chloride Layer for Enhanced Hybrid Energy...

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer an attractive route toward self-powered wearable systems, yet their intermittent output, constrained material options, and limited multimodal harvesting capabilities continue to restrict practical deployment. Here, we present a high-performance tribo-electromagnetic nanogenerator (TEMNG) constructed from CO₂-laser-engineered microstructured polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films, enabling simultaneous harvesting of biomechanical and electromagnetic (EM) energies. The optimized micro-crater architecture substantially enhances contact-electrification efficiency, achieving triboelectric outputs of 1094 V, 98 µA, and 28.7 W m^-2, exceeding the performance of most previously reported single-electrode TENGs. The device also demonstrates robust EM-energy harvesting, producing 61 V, 18.8 µA, and 0.26 W m^-2, surpassing state-of-the-art hybrid TENG platforms. This synergistic dual-mode operation enables rapid capacitor charging and continuous powering of practical electronics-including 800 LEDs, LCD timers, and thermohygrometers - without external power sources. When integrated into wearable configurations, the TEMNG enables real-time gait monitoring, rehabilitation assessment, and in-shoe biomechanical energy harvesting. Furthermore, by coupling TEMNG-derived gait signatures with a convolutional-neural-network/random-forest model, the system achieves 99.5%-accuracy user authentication, highlighting triboelectric signals as a powerful biometric modality. Overall, this work establishes microstructured PVC-based TEMNGs as a scalable and multifunctional platform that unifies hybrid energy harvesting, intelligent sensing, and secure human-machine interactions for next-generation self-powered electronics.