Graphene‐based wearable textile triboelectric nanogenerators and biomechanical sensors
Author(s)
Dang, Hongyang
Fenech‐Salerno, Benji
Leonardi, Antonio Alessio
La Barbera, Federico
Torrisi, Felice
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Wearable textile triboelectric nanogenerators (T-TENGs) offer a promising platform for wearable energy harvesting and self-powered sensing. In this work, we present a wearable spray-coated graphene-based T-TENG, in which a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) adhesion layer serves to enhance the interfacial performance. The graphene/PVA textile (Gr/PVA-Tex) electrode exhibits a significantly low sheet resistance of 479.3 Ω □−1, which is over four orders of magnitude lower than that of a pure graphene textile (Gr-Tex) electrode (5.4 MΩ □−1), while maintaining stable electrical conductivity after more than 1000 bending cycles. The graphene/PVA layer functions as both the electric induction electrode and triboelectric component, enhancing the wearability by increasing the average total strain by 60.5% while maintaining the ultimate tensile strength in both warp (103.3 MPa) and weft (48.6 MPa) directions. This mechanical reinforcement ensures stable and durable performance of the T-TENG device. The device was optimized for simultaneous pressure (with area-normalized sensitivity of 0.176 kPa−1 cm−2 from 9.8 to 120 kPa and 0.003 kPa−1 cm−2 from 120.0 to 318.5 kPa) and biomotion sensing, making it well-suited for applications such as rehabilitation monitoring, activity tracking, and emergency response. This work presents a facile, low-cost fabrication strategy for T-TENGs and highlights the functional advantages of sprayed graphene/PVA for next-generation wearable electronics.
Date Issued
2026-06-18
Date Acceptance
2026-02-26
Citation
Advanced Materials Technologies, 2026, 11 (12)
ISSN
2365-709X
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Materials Technologies
Volume
11
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Materials Technologies published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1002/admt.202502658
Subjects
biokinetic sensing
e-textiles
graphene
spray coating
wearable triboelectric nanogenerators
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e02658
Date Publish Online
2026-03-17