Triboelectric
nanogenerator (TENG) has been proven effective in
converting biomechanical energy into electrical energy, which is expected
to be a new energy supply device for wearable electronics and can
be utilized as a self-powered sensor. In this work, we have developed
a flexible, eco-friendly, and multifunctional fish gelatin based triboelectric
nanogenerator (FG-TENG) composed of fish gelatin (FG) film and poly(tetrafluoroethylene)/poly(dimethylsiloxane)
(PTFE/PDMS) composite film. The open-circuit voltage (V
oc), short-circuit current (I
sc), and output power density of this FG-TENG could reach up to 130
V, 0.35 μA, and 45.8 μW cm–2, respectively,
which were significantly higher than those of TENGs based on other
commonly used positive friction materials such as aluminum foil, poly(ethylene
terephthalate) (PET), and print paper. The superior performance of
the FG-TENG is attributed to the strong electron-donating ability
of the FG during the triboelectric process. The generated electric
energy was high enough to light up 50 commercial light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) directly. Importantly, owing to the high stability and excellent
sensitivity of the FG-TENG, it has been used as a self-powered sensor
for real-time monitoring of the human physiological signals such as
finger touch, joint movement, and respiration. Furthermore, to expand
the usages in real-life applications, a foldable FG-TENG was fabricated
by adopting the Miura folding to monitor human movements in real time.
This work provides an economical, simple, and environmental-friendly
approach to fabricate a biomechanical energy harvester, which has
a great potential in powering next-generation wearable electronics
and monitoring human physiological signals.