With the rising development of the Internet of Things
(IoTs) and
artificial intelligence, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have
shown great application potential to dramatically improve our daily
lives as self-powered sensors in portable and wearable electronics.
In this study, copper foam with graded porous architectures (CFGA),
featuring interconnected micro- and nanoporous composite structures,
has been developed via a cost-effective and convenient industrial
strategy, including electro galvanizing, thermal diffusion, and corrosion
methods in sequence. Based on the measurement and evaluation of compressed
force, frequency, and reliability, the obtained CFGA can enlarge the
contact surface areas and improve the output performance of TENG effectively
as a positive electrode. The results show that TENG based on CFGA
can yield an open-circuit voltage and a short circuit current of as
high as 45.8 V and 1.88 μA, respectively. The corresponding
maximum output peak power can reach ∼52.9 μW. For practical
application, CFGA-TENG can be designed in a spacer-free structure
for keyboards with the function of electronic code lock. Meanwhile,
it can also be applied in smart shoe insoles as a self-powered CFGA-TENG
sensor array for human motion monitoring in real time. Our work provides
an industrial production approach for functional electronics as energy
harvesters and sensors and makes it more accessible for practical
applications.