Wearable All‐Fabric‐Based Triboelectric Generator for Water Energy Harvesting

Realizing energy harvesting from water flow using triboelectric generators (TEGs) based on our daily wearable fabric or textile has practical significance. Challenges remain on methods to fabricate conformable TEGs that can be easily incorporated into waterproof textile, or directly harvest energy from water using hydrophobic textile. Herein, a wearable all‐fabric‐based TEG for water energy harvesting, with additional self‐cleaning and antifouling properties is reported for the first time. Hydrophobic cellulose oleoyl ester nanoparticles (HCOENPs) are prepared from microcrystalline cellulose, as a low‐cost and nontoxic coating material to achieve superhydrophobic coating on fabrics, including cotton, silk, flax, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (nylon), and polyurethane. The resultant PET fabric‐based water‐TEG can generate an instantaneous output power density of 0.14 W m^?2 at a load resistance of 100 MΩ. An all‐fabric‐based dual‐mode TEG is further realized to harvest both the electrostatic energy and mechanical energy of water, achieving the maximum instantaneous output power density of 0.30 W m^?2. The HCOENPs‐coated fabric provides excellent breathability, washability, and environmentally friendly fabric‐based TEGs, making it a promising wearable self‐powered system.     

A Battery‐Like Self‐Charge Universal Module for Motional Energy Harvest

Wearable and portable electronics have brought great convenience. These battery‐powered commercial devices have a limited lifetime and require recharging, which makes more extensive applications challenging. Here, a battery‐like self‐charge universal module (SUM) is developed, which is able to efficiently convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and store it in one device. An integrated SUM consists of a power management unit and an energy harvesting unit. Compared to other mechanical energy harvesting devices, SUM is more ingenious, efficient and can be universally used as a battery. Under low frequency (5 Hz), a SUM can deliver an excellent normalized output power of 2 mW g^?1. After carrying several SUMs and jogging for 10 min, a commercial global positioning system module is powered and works continuously for 0.5 h. SUMs can be easily assembled into different packages for powering various commercial electronics, demonstrating the great application prospects of SUM as a sustainable battery‐like device for wearable and portable electronics.     

Fatigue‐Free and Bending‐Endurable Flexible Mn‐Doped Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3‐BaTiO3‐BiFeO3 Film Capacitor with an Ultrahigh Energy Storage Performance

As the rapid development of intelligent systems moves toward flexible electronics, capacitors with extraordinary flexibility and an outstanding energy storage performance will open up broad prospects for powering portable/wearable electronics and pulsed power applications. This work presents a simple one‐step process to fabricate a flexible Mn‐doped 0.97(0.93Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃‐0.07BaTiO₃)‐0.03BiFeO₃ (Mn:NBT‐BT‐BFO) inorganic thin film capacitor with the assistance of a 2D fluorophlogopite mica substrate. The film element, which has a high breakdown strength, great relaxor dispersion, and the coexistence of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases, has a high recoverable energy storage density (W_rec ≈81.9 J cm^?3), high efficiency (η ≈64.4%), superior frequency stability (500 Hz–20 kHz), excellent antifatigue property (1 × 10⁹ cycles), and a broad operating temperature window (25–200 °C). The all‐inorganic Mn:NBT‐BT‐BFO/Pt/mica capacitor has a prominent mechanical‐bending resistance without obvious deterioration in its corresponding energy storage capability when it is subjected to a bending radius of 2 mm or repeated bending for 10³ cycles. This work is the first demonstration of an all‐inorganic flexible film capacitor and sheds light on dielectric energy storage devices for portable/wearable applications.     

Rechargeable Soft‐Matter EGaIn‐MnO2 Battery for Stretchable Electronics

A rechargeable, stretchable battery composed of a liquid metal alloy (eutectic gallium‐indium; EGaIn) anode, a carbon paste, and MnO₂ slurry cathode, an alkaline electrolytic hydrogel, and a soft elastomeric package is presented. The battery can stably cycle within a voltage range of 1.40–1.86 V at 1 mA cm^?2 while being subject to 100% tensile strain. This is accomplished through a mechanism that involves reversible stripping and plating of gallium along with MnO₂ chemical conversion. Moreover, a technique to increase the contact area between the EGaIn anode and hydrogel interface using CaCl₂ additives, which reduces polarization and therefore reduces the effective current density, leading to higher discharge plateaus and lower charge plateaus. Relative to previous attempts at energy storage with liquid metal, the EGaIn‐MnO₂ battery presented here shows an exceptional areal specific capacity (≈3.8 mAh cm^?2) and robust, stable rechargeability over >100 charging cycles. The battery is also stable under bending, with negligible change in electrochemical properties when bent to a 2 mm radius of curvature. Batteries embedded within a wearable elastomeric sleeve can power a blue light‐emitting diode and strain‐sensing circuit. These demonstrations suggest that stretchable EGaIn‐MnO₂ batteries are feasible for applications in wearable energy‐storage electronics.     

An Approach to Design Highly Durable Piezoelectric Nanogenerator Based on Self‐Poled PVDF/AlO‐rGO Flexible Nanocomposite with High Power Density and Energy Conversion Efficiency

Till date, fabrication of piezoelectric nanogenerator (PNG) with highly durable, high power density, and high energy conversion efficiency is of great concern. Here a flexible, sensitive, cost effective hybrid piezoelectric nanogenerator (HPNG) developed by integrating flexible steel woven fabric electrodes into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/aluminum oxides decorated reduced graphene oxide (AlO‐rGO) nanocomposite film is reported where AlO‐rGO acts as nucleating agent for electroactive β‐phase formation. The HPNG exhibits reliable energy harvesting performance with high output, fast charging capability, and high durability compared with previously reported PVDF based PNGs. This HPNG is capable for harvesting energy from a variety and easy accessible biomechanical and mechanical energy sources such as, body movements (e.g., hand folding, jogging, heel pressing, and foot striking, etc.) and machine vibration. The HPNG exhibits high output power density and energy conversion efficiency, facilitating direct light on different color of several commercial light‐emitting diodes instantly and powers up many portable electronic devices like wrist watch, calculator, speaker, and mobile liquid crystal display (LCD) screen through capacitor charging. More importantly, HPNG retains its performance after long compression cycles (≈158 400), demonstrating great promise as a piezoelectric energy harvester toward practical applications in harvesting biomechanical and mechanical energy for self‐powered systems.     

Thermal–Electric Nanogenerator Based on the Electrokinetic Effect in Porous Carbon Film

Converting low‐grade thermal energy with small temperature gradient into electricity is challenging due to the low efficiency and high cost. Here, a new type of thermal–electric nanogenerator is reported that utilizes electrokinetic effect for effective harvesting thermal energy. The nanogenerator is based on an evaporation‐driven water flow in porous medium with small temperature gradient. With a piece of porous carbon film and deionized water, a maximum open‐circuit voltage of 0.89 V under a temperature difference of 4.2 °C is obtained, having a corresponding pseudo‐Seebeck coefficient of 210 mV K^?1. The large pseudo‐Seebeck coefficient endows the nanogenerator sufficient power output for powering existing electronics directly. Furthermore, a wearable bracelet nanogenerator utilizing body heat is also demonstrated. The unique properties of such conversion process offer great potential for ultra‐low temperature‐gradient thermal energy recovery, wearable electronics, and self‐powered sensor systems.     

Thermally Chargeable Solid‐State Supercapacitor

Ubiquitous low‐grade thermal energy, which is typically wasted without use, can be extremely valuable for continuously powering electronic devices such as sensors and wearable electronics. A popular choice for waste heat recovery has been thermoelectric energy conversion, but small output voltage without energy‐storing capability necessitates additional components such as a voltage booster and a capacitor. Here, a novel method of simultaneously generating a large voltage from a temperature gradient and storing electrical energy without losing the benefit of solid‐state no‐moving part devices like conventional thermoelectrics is reported. Thermally driven ion diffusion is used to greatly increase the output voltage (8 mV K^?1) with polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSH) film. Polyaniline‐coated electrodes containing graphene and carbon nanotube sandwich the PSSH film where thermally induced voltage‐enabled electrochemical reactions, resulting in a charging behavior without an external power supply. With a small temperature difference (5 K) possibly created over wearable energy harvesting devices, the thermally chargeable supercapacitor produce 38 mV with a large areal capacitance (1200 F m^?2). It is anticipated that the attempt with thermally driven ion diffusion behaviors initiates a new research direction in thermal energy harvesting.     

Versatile Core–Sheath Yarn for Sustainable Biomechanical Energy Harvesting and Real‐Time Human‐Interactive Sensing

The emergence of stretchable textile‐based mechanical energy harvester and self‐powered active sensor brings a new life for wearable functional electronics. However, single energy conversion mode and weak sensing capabilities have largely hindered their development. Here, in virtue of silver‐coated nylon yarn and silicone rubber elastomer, a highly stretchable yarn‐based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with coaxial core–sheath and built‐in spring‐like spiral winding structures is designed for biomechanical energy harvesting and real‐time human‐interactive sensing. Based on the two advanced structural designs, the yarn‐based TENG can effectively harvest or respond rapidly to omnifarious external mechanical stimuli, such as compressing, stretching, bending, and twisting. With these excellent performances, the yarn‐based TENG can be used in a self‐counting skipping rope, a self‐powered gesture‐recognizing glove, and a real‐time golf scoring system. Furthermore, the yarn‐based TENG can also be woven into a large‐area energy‐harvesting fabric, which is capable of lighting up light emitting diodes (LEDs), charging a commercial capacitor, powering a smart watch, and integrating the four operational modes of TENGs together. This work provides a new direction for textile‐based multimode mechanical energy harvesters and highly sensitive self‐powered motion sensors with potential applications in sustainable power supplies, self‐powered wearable electronics, personalized motion/health monitoring, and real‐time human‐machine interactions.     

Amorphous Tin‐Based Composite Oxide: A High‐Rate and Ultralong‐Life Sodium‐Ion‐Storage Material

Energy‐storage technology is moving beyond lithium batteries to sodium as a result of its high abundance and low cost. However, this sensible transition requires the discovery of high‐rate and long‐lifespan anode materials, which remains a significant challenge. Here, the facile synthesis of an amorphous Sn₂P₂O₇/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite and its sodium storage performance between 0.01 and 3.0 V are reported for the first time. This hybrid electrode delivers a high specific capacity of 480 mA h g^?1 at a current density of 50 mA g^?1 and superior rate performance of 250 and 165 mA h g^?1 at 2 and 10 A g^?1, respectively. Strikingly, this anode can sustain 15 000 cycles while retaining over 70% of the initial capacity. Quantitative kinetic analysis reveals that the sodium storage is governed by pseudocapacitance, particularly at high current rates. A full cell with sodium super ionic conductor (NASICON)‐structured Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ and Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ as cathodes exhibits a high energy density of over 140 W h kg^?1 and a power density of nearly 9000 W kg^?1 as well as stability over 1000 cycles. This exceptional performance suggests that the present system is a promising power source for promoting the substantial use of low‐cost energy storage systems.     

Boosting Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting by TENG‐Charged Li‐Ion Battery

The need for cost‐effective and sustainable power supplies has spurred a growing interest in hybrid energy harvesting systems, and the most elementary energy production process relies on intermittent solar power. Here, it is shown how the ambient mechanical energy leads to water splitting in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell boosted by a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). In this strategy, a flexible TENG collects and transforms mechanical energy into electric current, which boosts the PEC water splitting via the charged Li‐ion battery. Au nanoparticles are deposited on TiO₂ nanoarrays for extending the available light spectrum to visible part by surface plasmon resonance effect, which yields a photocurrent density of 1.32 mA cm^?2 under AM 1.5 G illumination and 0.12 mA cm^?2 under visible light with a bias of 0.5 V. The TENG‐charged battery boosts the water splitting performance through coupling electrolysis and enhanced electron–hole separation efficiency. The hybrid cell exhibits an instantaneous current more than 9 mA with a working electrode area of 0.3 cm², suggesting a simple but efficient route for simultaneously converting solar radiation and mechanical energy into hydrogen.     

MoS2‐Based All‐Purpose Fibrous Electrode and Self‐Powering Energy Fiber for Efficient Energy Harvesting and Storage

Here an all‐purpose fibrous electrode based on MoS₂ is demonstrated, which can be employed for versatile energy harvesting and storage applications. In this coaxial electrode, ultrathin MoS₂ nanofilms are grown on TiO₂ nanoparticles coated carbon fiber. The high electrochemical activity of MoS₂ and good conductivity of carbon fiber synergistically lead to the remarkable performances of this novel composite electrode in fibrous dye‐sensitized solar cells (showing a record‐breaking conversion efficiency of 9.5%) and high‐capacity fibrous supercapacitors. Furthermore, a self‐powering energy fiber is fabricated by combining a fibrous dye‐sensitized solar cell and a fibrous supercapacitor into a single device, showing very fast charging capability (charging in 7 s under AM1.5G solar illumination) and an overall photochemical‐electricity energy conversion efficiency as high as 1.8%. In addition, this wire‐shaped electrode can also be used for fibrous Li‐ion batteries and electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. These applications indicate that the MoS₂‐based all‐purpose fibrous electrode has great potential for the construction of high‐performance flexible and wearable energy devices.     

An Ultrathin Flexible Single‐Electrode Triboelectric‐Nanogenerator for Mechanical Energy Harvesting and Instantaneous Force Sensing

The trends in miniaturization of electronic devices give rise to the attention of energy harvesting technologies that gathers tiny wattages of power. Here this study demonstrates an ultrathin flexible single electrode triboelectric nanogenerator (S‐TENG) which not only could harvest mechanical energy from human movements and ambient sources, but also could sense instantaneous force without extra energy. The S‐TENG, which features an extremely simple structure, has an average output current of 78 μA, lightening up at least 70 LEDs (light‐emitting diode). Even tapped by bare finger, it exhibits an output current of 1 μA. The detection sensitivity for instantaneous force sensing is about 0.947 μA MPa^?1. Performances of the device are also systematically investigated under various motion types, press force, and triboelectric materials. The S‐TENG has great application prospects in sustainable wearable devices, sustainable medical devices, and smart wireless sensor networks owning to its thinness, light weight, energy harvesting, and sensing capacities.     

An Ultrahigh Energy Density Quasi‐Solid‐State Zinc Ion Microbattery with Excellent Flexibility and Thermostability

The rapid development of smart wearable and integrated electronic products has urgently increased the requirement for high‐performance microbatteries. Although few lithium ion microbatteries based on organic electrolytes have been reported so far, the problems, such as undesirable energy density, poor flexibility, inflammability, volatility toxicity, and high cost restrict their practical applications in the above‐mentioned electronic products. In order to overcome these problems, a low cost quasi‐solid‐state aqueous zinc ion microbattery (ZIMB) assembled by a vanadium dioxide (B)‐multiwalled carbon nanotubes (VO₂ (B)‐MWCNTs) cathode, a zinc nanoflakes anode, and a zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate‐polyvinyl alcohol (Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂‐PVA) hydrogel electrolyte is exploited. As expected, the ZIMB exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, e.g., a high capacity of 314.7 µAh cm^?2, an ultrahigh energy density of 188.8 µWh cm^?2, and a high power density of 0.61 mW cm^?2. Furthermore, the ZIMB also shows high flexibility and excellent high temperature stability: the capacity has no obvious decay when the bending angle is up to 150° and the temperature reaches 100 °C. The ZIMB provides a way to develop next‐generation miniature energy storage devices with high performance.     

Partial Nitridation‐Induced Electrochemistry Enhancement of Ternary Oxide Nanosheets for Fiber Energy Storage Device

Fiber‐based power sources are receiving interest in terms of application in wearable electronic devices. Herein, fiber‐shaped all‐solid‐state asymmetric energy storage devices are fabricated based on a partially nitridized NiCo₂O₄ hybrid nanostructures on graphite fibers (GFs). The surface nitridation leads to a 3D “pearled‐veil” network structure, in which Ni–Co–N nanospheres are mounted on NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets' electrode. It is demonstrated that the hybrid materials are more potent than the pure NiCo₂O₄ in energy storage applications due to a cooperative effect between the constituents. The Ni–Co–N segments augment the pristine oxide nanosheets by enhancing both capacity and rate performance (a specific capacity of 384.75 mAh g⁻¹ at 4 A g⁻¹, and a capacity retention of 86.5% as the current is increased to 20 A g⁻¹). The whole material system has a metallic conductivity that renders high‐rate charge and discharge, and an extremely soft feature, so that it can wrap around arbitrary‐shaped holders. All‐solid‐state asymmetric device is fabricated using Ni–Co–N/NiCo₂O₄/GFs and carbon nanotubes/GFs as the electrodes. The flexible device delivers outstanding performance compared to most oxide‐based full devices. These structured hybrid materials may find applications in miniaturized foldable energy devices.     

Mulberry Paper‐Based Supercapacitor Exhibiting High Mechanical and Chemical Toughness for Large‐Scale Energy Storage Applications

In response to the demand for flexible and sustainable energy storage devices that exhibit high electrochemical performance, a supercapacitor system is fabricated using mulberry tree‐derived paper as a substrate and Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)‐poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and carbon black as the active material. The mulberry paper‐based supercapacitor system demonstrates high energy density of 29.8–39.8 Wh kg^?1 and power density of 2.8–13.9 kW kg^?1 with 90.7% retention of its initial capacity over 15 000 charge–discharge cycles. In addition, the mulberry tree fibers are known to have superior mechanical strength and toughness and the mulberry paper‐based supercapacitor; as a result, exhibit high mechanical and chemical toughness; 99% of its initial capacity is retained after 100 repeated applications of bending strains, and twisting. 94% capacity retention is observed even after exposure to HCl and H₂SO₄ acid solutions. The fabrication methodology of the mulberry‐based supercapacitor is highly scalable and could be stacked to increase the energy storage capacity, where operation of light‐emitting diode lights with a drive voltage of 12 V integrated in a wearable device is demonstrated.     

Free‐Standing 3D Nanoporous Duct‐Like and Hierarchical Nanoporous Graphene Films for Micron‐Level Flexible Solid‐State Asymmetric Supercapacitors

High energy density and power density within a limited volume of flexible solid‐state supercapacitors are highly desirable for practical applications. Here, free‐standing high‐quality 3D nanoporous duct‐like graphene (3D‐DG) films are fabricated with high flexibility and robustness as the backbones to deposit flower‐like MnO₂ nanosheets (3D‐DG@MnO₂). The 3D‐DG is the ideal support for the deposition of large amount of active materials because of its large surface area, appropriate pore structure, and negligible volume compared with other kinds of carbon backbones. Moreover, the 3D‐DG preserve the distinctive 2D coherent electronic properties of graphene, in which charge carriers move rapidly with a small resistance through the high‐quality and continuous chemical vapor deposition‐grown graphene building blocks, which results in a high rate performance. Marvelously, ultrathin (≈50 μm) flexible solid‐state asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) using 3D‐DG@MnO₂ as the positive electrode and 3D hierarchical nanoporous graphene films as the negative electrode display ultrahigh volumetric energy density (28.2 mW h cm^?3) and power density (55.7 W cm^?3) at 2.0 V. Furthermore, as‐prepared ASCs show high cycle stability clearly demonstrating their broad applications as power supplies in wearable electronic devices.     

Dendrite‐Free Flexible Fiber‐Shaped Zn Battery with Long Cycle Life in Water and Air

Fiber‐shaped aqueous rechargeable Zn batteries (FARZBs) show flexibility, good reliability, cost‐effectiveness, high energy/power densities, and high safety that have attracted increasing attention as promising energy storage devices for future wearable applications. However, the development of FARZB is limited by its poor cycling life and inferior charge–discharge performance, mainly suffering from zinc dendrite growth and increasing electrode irreversibility. In this work, dendrite‐free fiber‐shaped Zn//Co₃O₄ rechargeable batteries with a long cycle life tested in water and air, are obtained via tuning the surface binding energy of Zn on the anode using the zincophilic N,O‐functional carbon fiber, as well as engineering the Co₃O₄ cathode with a nanowire array structure. The fiber‐shaped Zn//Co₃O₄ full battery demonstrates remarkable long cycle life in water and air with high energy density, impressive flexibility, and excellent waterproof ability (fully immersed and charged/discharged under water for more than 33 h for 3000 cycles with capacity retention of ≈80%). The reversible electrochemical mechanisms of the FARZBs, without obvious zinc dendrite deposits and structural change of Co₃O₄ nanowires, are confirmed by a series of characterizations. These results demonstrate that the FARZBs are promising power sources for emerging wearable electronics.     

An Aqueous Zn‐Ion Hybrid Supercapacitor with High Energy Density and Ultrastability up to 80 000 Cycles

Integrating a battery‐type electrode to build a hybrid supercapacitor is a promising approach to improve the overall energy density of a supercapacitor‐type energy storage device without sacrificing its power output. However, this strategy is usually achieved at the expense of cycling lifespan. In this work, a hybrid supercapacitor comprising Zn foil and porous carbon derived from chemical activated graphene (aMEGO) is developed, and the trade‐off between energy density and cycling life is well‐balanced by the utilization of 3 m Zn(CF₃SO₃)₂ electrolyte with high Zn stripping/plating efficiency. Such a hybrid supercapacitor demonstrates an energy density of 106.3 Wh kg^?1 and a power density of 31.4 kW kg^?1, and significantly a wide operation voltage of 1.9 V is achieved in aqueous electrolyte. Benefitting from the high Zn stripping/plating efficiency, the Zn‐aMEGO hybrid‐supercapacitor also exhibits an ultralong cycling life up to 80 000 cycles with capacity retention of 93%, which is comparable to that of conventional electrochemical double‐layer capacitors.     

A Portable and Efficient Solar‐Rechargeable Battery with Ultrafast Photo‐Charge/Discharge Rate

The solar‐rechargeable electric energy storage systems (SEESSs), which can simultaneously harvest and store solar energy, are considered a promising next‐generation renewable energy supply system. However, the difficulty in meeting the demands of higher overall photoelectric conversion and storage efficiency (PCSE) with both high power density and large energy density in the current SEESSs severely limit their practical application. Herein, a new class is demonstrated of portable and highly efficient SEESS that uniquely integrates a perovskite solar module (PSM) and an aluminum‐ion battery (AIB) directly on a bifunctional aluminum electrode without any external circuit. Such nanostructural design in the SEESS not only exhibits fast photo‐charge/discharge rate (less than one minute) with high power density (above 5000 W kg^?1), but also delivers a high energy density (above 43 Wh kg^?1). By rationally matching the maximum power point voltage of PSM with AIB charging voltage, an excellent solar‐charging efficiency of 15.2% and a high PCSE of 12.04% are achieved, which is among the best in all reported portable SEESSs. Moreover, enhanced PCSE is observed as the light intensity decreases, which makes such SEESS immune from the geographical location and climate limitations for diverse practical applications.     

Highly Stable Supercapacitors with Conducting Polymer Core‐Shell Electrodes for Energy Storage Applications

Conducting polymers such as polyaniline (PAni) show a great potential as pseudocapacitor materials for electrochemical energy storage applications. Yet, the cycling instability of PAni resulting from structural alteration is a major hurdle to its commercial application. Here, the development of nanostructured PAni–RuO₂ core–shell arrays as electrodes for highly stable pseudocapacitors with excellent energy storage performance is reported. A thin layer of RuO₂ grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on PAni nanofibers plays a crucial role in stabilizing the PAni pseudocapacitors and improving their energy density. The pseudocapacitors, which are based on optimized PAni–RuO₂ core–shell nanostructured electrodes, exhibit very high specific capacitance (710 F g^?1 at 5 mV s^?1) and power density (42.2 kW kg^?1) at an energy density of 10 Wh kg^?1. Furthermore, they exhibit remarkable capacitance retention of ≈88% after 10 000 cycles at very high current density of 20 A g^?1, superior to that of pristine PAni‐based pseudocapacitors. This prominently enhanced electrochemical stability successfully demonstrates the buffering effect of ALD coating on PAni, which provides a new approach for the preparation of metal‐oxide/conducting polymer hybrid electrodes with excellent electrochemical performance.