Recent Advances and Challenges of Textile-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Smart Healthcare and Sports Applications

TL;DR

Textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (T-TENGs) are promising for smart healthcare and sports due to their flexibility and cost-effectiveness, but challenges remain in improving their performance and stability.

Contribution

This review systematically analyzes recent advancements and challenges in T-TENGs for healthcare and sports, offering pathways to improve performance and stability.

Findings

T-TENGs show potential for wearable electronics but face limitations in power output and signal stability.

Hydrophobic treatments and material selection can enhance charge density and environmental stability.

Advanced structural designs and signal processing are needed to maintain performance under dynamic deformation.

Abstract

The combination of nanogenerator technology and traditional textile materials has given rise to textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (T-TENGs) structured from fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Due to their lightweight, flexibility, washability, and cost-effectiveness, T-TENGs offer a promising platform for powering and sensing in next-generation wearable electronics, with particularly significant potential in smart healthcare and sports monitoring. However, the inherent electrical and structural limitations of textile materials often restrict their power output, signal stability, and sensing range, making it challenging to achieve both high electrical performance and high sensing sensitivity. This review focuses on the application of T-TENGs in smart healthcare and sports. It systematically presents recent developments in textile material selection, sensing structure, fabric design, working mechanisms, accuracy optimization, and practical application scenarios. Furthermore, it provides a critical analysis of the recurring structural and material limitations that constrain performance and offers constructive pathways to address them. Key challenges such as the low charge density of textile interfaces may be mitigated by selecting low-hygroscopicity materials, applying hydrophobic treatments, and optimizing textile structures to enhance contact efficiency and environmental stability. Issues of signal instability under dynamic deformation call for advanced structural designs that accommodate strain without compromising electrical pathways, coupled with robust signal processing algorithms. By providing a comparative analysis across materials and structures, this review aims to inform future designs and accelerate the translation of high-performance T-TENGs from laboratory research to real-world implementation.

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