Integrated spacer-free triboelectric textiles for subtle movement tracking and natural body motion energy harvesting

Abstract

In recent years, triboelectric nanogenerators have emerged as a promising sensing and power technology. Triboelectric textiles are particularly desirable for natural motion tracking and advanced wearable scenarios. However, current approaches mostly rely on a physical spacer at the device interface, fail to integrate triboelectric textiles into clothing, or compromise the breathability and wear comfort for natural and subtle motion tracking. Herein, we propose a triboelectric textile that not only eliminates the need for artificial spacers but also allows for seamless integration into clothing as part of everyday wear. The incorporation of micro-gaps through amine-halogen tribo-pair nanofibers enhances the output fourfold over extended use. The integrated triboelectric garment system is capable of detecting continuous angular changes, such as flexion and extension motions, exhibiting high sensitivity to subtle movements, including human tremors. The design of a lightweight, pocket-sized signal acquisition and transmission module ensures unobtrusive wearability for motion tracking and energy harvesting from natural human activities, thereby opening doors to diverse applications in wearables and healthcare.