Laser-induced graphene based triboelectric nanogenerator for smart electronic device

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and TENG sensors have received great attention in cutting-edged electrical device applications, including energy collectors, wearable electronics, health monitoring, and human-machine interfaces. However, film TENG still has the problem of high cost, complicated production process, low integration and slow production speed. Furthermore, there are problems such as uneven and difficult to cut after processing. Here, laser-induced graphene based TENG (L-TENG) assembled with polyimide (PI) paper was developed for environmental energy harvesting and tactile perception. Laser programmable processing has the advantages of patterning, customization and efficiency, thereby producing diversified TENG in one step. L-TENG can be captured not only for mechanical energy harvesting but also for environmental sensing. By means of laser parameter optimization, L-TENG can produce voltage as high as 245 V. Through special shape design, the performance of L-TENG can be increased from 48 to 94 V. The L-TENG was first applied to wearable devices that collect energy from human movement to drive LED lights. In addition, the smart mask is synchronously made to capture human health information, such as breathing, speaking, detection. The wind energy collection device was constructed to realize the collection of environmental energy. To further illustrate L-TENG multifunctionally applied in the field of sensing, matrix sensor can also be applied by voltage signals to detect gesture touch recognition and writing movement detection. This laser-manufactured TENG using PI paper provides a promising platform for the development of environmental energy capture, flexible tactile sensing, human-computer interaction and intelligent wearable devices.