Electronics
pacemakers, nerve stimulation devices and more. “TENGs have also been incorporated into running shoes,” adds Yao.
Harvesting energy using multiple technologies is going to be the way forward for developing robust wearable devices.
but they are the most technologically mature among the energy harvesting device categories,” says Yao. The solution to this problem is combining solar cells with flexible battery technologies, so the solar cells can harvest energy and store it for when there isn’t an abundance of sunlight.
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) Out of the two nanogenerators mentioned earlier, TENGs are the most mature option and are already being used to power a number of wearables. They have been used in drug delivery systems,
TENGs harvest mechanical motion from their surroundings and convert it into an electrical output via a contact-induced electrification mechanism. They’re lightweight devices that can provide constant power (so long as there’s motion) and generate a high peak-to-peak output power. Importantly, there’s no reliance on external charging. Here’s how they work. TENGs use a triboelectric material, which becomes electrically charged when interacting with an external stimulus. This generates frictional forces that produce electrical charges on the surface of the TENG, which then get redistributed across the TENG, producing an electrical current that can then power the components of the wearable. With TENGs, the small scale of the device and need for a good output has meant that many 2D nanomaterials – such as graphene, MXenes and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) – have become popular choices as the active triboelectric materials. “TENGs and PENGs are similar in the sense that they both convert mechanical energy from bodily motion into electricity,” Yao explains. “TENGs typically have a higher energy output than PENGs. However, because they rely on motion, they cannot sustain energy when the body is still – such as sitting
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