Recent Developments in Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators: Materials, Structure, and Applications

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have garnered significant attention due to their high energy conversion efficiency and extensive application potential in energy harvesting and self-powered devices. Recent advancements in electrospun nanofibers, attributed to their outstanding mechanical properties and tailored surface characteristics, have meant that they can be used as a critical material for enhancing TENGs performance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the developments in electrospun nanofiber-based TENGs. It begins with an exploration of the fundamental principles behind electrospinning and triboelectricity, followed by a detailed examination of the application and performance of various polymer materials, including poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), polyamide (PA), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and other significant polymers. Furthermore, this review analyzes the influence of diverse structural designs-such as fiber architectures, bionic configurations, and multilayer structures-on the performance of TENGs. Applications across self-powered devices, environmental energy harvesting, and wearable technologies are discussed. The review concludes by highlighting current challenges and outlining future research directions, offering valuable insights for researchers and engineers in the field.

Keywords: TENG; application; electrospinning; materials; structure design.

Figure 3

Fiber structure. (a) Surface roughness curves and fiber diameter histograms of electrospun fiber membranes at different humidity levels [122]. (b) Schematic diagram of the grating TENG, including top view, side view, and cross-sectional view, as well as a fiber cross-sectional view of PVDF (red dash lines denote the top view, side view, cross-sectional view and SEM images of the same sample position) [123]. (c) Wave-shaped TENG [127]. (d) Wrinkle-type TENG (yellow arrow indicates the distance between the upper and lower layers) [128]. (e) Stack configuration of electrospun PVDF with different dipole orientation and direction [130]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 4

Bionic structure. (a) TENG based on petiole-shaped fiber mat [136]. (b) Janus textile inspired by the internal structures of plants (red dot lines mark a small part of the Janus textile that will be attached to the skin and point to the corresponding structure) [137]. (c) Structural design of the TENG-based e-skin (black dot lines mark the all-nanofiber TENG-based e-skin and point to the corresponding structure.) [141]. (d) Bio-inspired hydrophobic/cancellous/hydrophilic Trimurti-based TENG [142]. (e) Silk-inspired nanofibers [143]. (f) Bioinspired soft TENG fabricated based on animal body structures [144]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 5

Multilayer structure. (a) Schematic representation of the TENG construction [149]. (b) Structure of PT-NG [152]. (c) Schematic diagram of the hybrid generator [155]. (d) Schematic diagram of the double-layer nanofibrous TENG [156]. (e) Schematic illustration showing the layer-by-layer structure of the self-charging SPC [157]. (f) Structural model diagram of the MS-CES [158]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 1

Principle of electrospun nanofibers. (a) Schematic diagram of a basic electrospinning setup [34]. (b) Schematic diagram showing the path of an electrospun jet [35]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 2

Working modes of TENGs (the red arrows indicate the direction of triboelectric layers movement; +: positive charge; −: negative charge) [24]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 6

Self-powered devices based on electrospun nanofiber TENGs. (a) Schematic illustration of CSYF TENG as a self-powered humidity sensor [167]. (b) Output performance of STENG as visible-blind UV photodetector [169]. (c) A real-time smart home control system using an MOF/PVDF (MPVDF) NF-based TENG device (red circle marks the MPVDF NF-based TENG) [170]. (d) Schematic of a natural human breath test [171]. (e) Illustration of the integration of SUPS for noninvasive multi-indicator cardiovascular monitoring (red circle marks the SUPS) [172]. (f) Structure diagram of self-powered TENG and its principle diagram in wound healing (large grey arrow points to the position of TENG, indicating its location in the whole system; small grey arrows represent the healing of wounds from both sides, approaching towards the middle, showing the direction and process of wound healing) [173]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 7

Environmental energy harvesting based on electrospun nanofiber TENGs (a) Acoustic NFM TENG (yellow arrow points to the overall structure of TENG; red arrow indicates a small part of the PLA layer and the MWCNTs within it; red line represents the wire) [191]. (b) Wind-driven TENG for W/O emulsion separation (red dash line marks the copper electrode and shows the charge distribution within it) [193]. (c) Water energy harvesting mechanism of the SNF-TENG (purple arrow shows the direction of charge movement) [194]. (d) When the rain droplets roll down the MWTT, triboelectric electricity is generated [195]. (e) Schematics of the G-TENG array for harvesting water wave energy [126]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.

Figure 8

Wearable devices based on electrospun nanofiber TENGs (a) The TENG integrated into the mask is used to monitor breathing after walking or running at different speeds on a treadmill [218]. (b) The voltage changes in our device attached on throat muscle movement [219]. (c) Schematic diagram of the communication system for the real-time monitoring of abdominal respiratory status by the TENG sensor using a wired transmission device [107]. (d) The applications of ALTFM-based wearable electronics for human motion monitoring (pink arrows serve as pointers) [125]. (e) Human body movement recognition and detection using PENG and TENG devices based on PAG2-10 NFs fixed on different locations [220]. All essential copyrights and permissions received.