A Network Review Analysis of Textile-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators as an Energy Source for Wearable Devices

Purpose: This study presents a network review analysis of publications on textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for wearable devices. Firstly, the study seeks to conduct a bibliometric analysis of search results to report on the publication trend, top cited authors, top leading journals, and collaboration from countries. The second part details a review or discussion of the findings of selected top-cited literature to provide a brief overview of TENGs within the field. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study adopted the quantitative method (bibliometric analysis) to analyse 111 publications from 2014–2023, sourced from the Scopus database on 16th of April 2023 after using keywords combination as search blocks. Additionally, a qualitative method was adopted to review literature of ten (10) top-cited papers. The bibliometric analysis was conducted on the sourced data to understand the annual publication trends and publication output of country using Excel, and co-occurrence of keywords using the VOSviewer software. Subsequently, the Biblimetrix software was used to visualise the three-fields plot on the interconnection of the top journals, authors and countries publishing textile-based TENGs papers. Findings: Results revealed the first paper on textile based TENGs was published in 2014, with subsequent years producing an increasing research output from 2020. At the time of gathering the data from Scopus, a total of 14 textile based TENGs have been published in 2023. China recorded the highest publication output followed by the United States, where these two countries have a strong collaboration. Studies have fabricated yarn, hybrid and textile based-TENGs for mechanical energy harvesting which are able to power several light emitting diodes, watch and digital calculators. Practical Implications: These textiles based TENGs provides an effective energy source for wearable electronics based on mechanical energy harvested from human motion. The practical impact of textiles based TENGs is that it paves an opportunity for the development of intelligent and functionalised textile products which meet the energy demands of society to power their devices. Social Implications: Its social implications are that individuals in underserved areas can self-power their devices using these smart textiles for effective communication and health monitoring. Additionally, as they increase their physical activities, more energy is generated which can promote a healthy lifestyle among individuals. Originality and Value: The study contributed to investigating the bibliometric information and top-cited publications on textile based TENGs which are used for energy harvesting and sensing performance, based on data from Scopus.