Engineered nano-micro fiber networks: PANI nanowires on electrospun Nylon 11 fibers for enhanced triboelectric performance in wearable biomechanical sensing

Abstract

Triboelectric loss due to repeated contact electrification remains a significant research challenge in sustainable energy harvesting. A promising approach to improving this issue following the use of conventional insulators is the incorporation of charge trapping, electron trapping, and conductive fillers into polymer matrices. In this study, we developed an advanced hybrid nanogenerator comprising electrospun layers of Nylon-11 modified with polyaniline nanowires (PNYL) and strontium titanate (SrTiO₃)-loaded poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) layers (PTS). Nylon-11 membranes were fabricated via electrospinning and modified with PANI NW via dilute chemical polymerization. The PANI NWs enhance the tribo-positive polarity of Nylon-11 due to their -NH₂ groups while reducing triboelectric loss through their conductivity. Meanwhile, the charge-trapping P(VDF-TrFE) and dielectric SrTiO₃ filler improve the performance of the tribo-negative layer. The optimized PNYL/PTS-HNG achieves high electrical output with an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 195 V and short-circuit current (I_SC) of 11 μA, indicating 387 % and 175 % increases over pure NYL/PT-HNG. In addition, it exhibits a mechanical energy conversion efficiency of 66.7 % and excellent mechano-sensitivity (∼58.4 ± 6.6 V kPa⁻¹). These findings highlight the potential of PNYL/PTS-HNG as a high-performance, self-powered wearable sensor for biomechanical monitoring.