High-performance and readily processable biobased copolyamides for wearable self-powered sensors

As high-performance thermoplastic engineering plastics, polyamides (PAs) are characterized by excellent mechanical strength and good wear resistance; hence, they are commonly used as triboelectric layers in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, most conventional PAs are derived from petrochemical monomers, and their production processes generate greenhouse gas emissions, which poses a challenge to the sustainable advancement of TENGs. In this work, a highly heat-resistant biobased polyamide (PA56T) was synthesized using biobased 1,5-diaminopentane, 1,6-diaminohexane and terephthalic acid. To enhance the processability of PA56T, aliphatic PA46 was incorporated to prepare high-performance and readily processable copolyamides (P-CoPAs) through screw processing. After three rounds of processing, P-CoPA-3 showed significantly improved melt flowability and processability, while its thermal properties (T_m = 273 °C and T5%d = 400 °C) and triboelectric output performance (V_oc ∼ 30 V) remained almost unchanged, with the fabricated P-TENG maintaining robust performance even at temperatures of up to 200 °C. Furthermore, the device attained a peak power density of 2380 µW m^-2, which is adequate to light up 10 LEDs and charge capacitors to 9 V within 60 s. Overall, this work offers a sustainable strategy for reliable energy devices and wearable self-powered sensors.