Piezoelectricity

Energy harvesting

Statistics

Mechanical energy

Electrical engineering

Physics

Engineering

Fabrication

Pathology

Physical chemistry

Embedded system

Wearable computer

Composite material

Power (physics)

Voltage

Nanotechnology

Electrode

Nanogenerator

Chemistry

Energy (signal processing)

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Polyvinyl alcohol

Mathematics

Computer science

Optoelectronics

Wearable technology

Doping

Quantum mechanics

Medicine

Triboelectric effect

Electronic skin

Advanced Functional Materials

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) represent an emerging technology in energy harvesting, medical treatment, and information technology. Flexible, portable, and self-powered electronic devices based on TENGs are much desired, whereas the complex preparation processes and high cost of traditional flexible electrodes hinder their practical applications. Here, an MXene/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel TENG (MH-TENG) is presented with simple fabrication, high output performance, and versatile applications. The doping of MXene nanosheets promotes the crosslinking of the PVA hydrogel and improves the stretchability of the composite hydrogel. The MXene nanosheets also form microchannels on surfaces, which not only enhances the conductivity of the hydrogel by improving the transport of ions but also generates an extra triboelectric output via a streaming vibration potential mechanism. The measured open-circuit voltage of the MH-TENG reaches up to 230 V even in a single-electrode mode. The MH-TENG can be stretched up to 200% of the original length and demonstrates a monotonical increasing relationship between the stretchable length and the short-circuit voltage. By utilizing the MH-TENG's outstanding stretchable property and ultrahigh sensitivity to mechanical stimuli, applications in wearable movement monitoring, high-precision written stroke recognition, and low-frequency mechanical energy harvesting are demonstrated.

A Flexible Multifunctional Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on MXene/PVA Hydrogel