Electrospun polymer fibers for triboelectric energy harvesting applications in smart textiles
type: CreativeWork
description: Wearable biosensors embedded into smart textiles have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enabling the measurement of vital signs in real-time. However, the deployment of these devices is hindered by their power requirements. Current batteries are too bulky and rigid, and require frequent charging. A promising solution to this issue involves energy harvesting devices capable of transforming surrounding waste energy into useful electricity, potentially reducing the battery size and frequency of charging. Amongst energy harvesters, triboelectric generators are excellent candidates for smart textile applications due to their potential to convert mechanical energy arising from body movements into electrical energy. Typically, triboelectric energy harvesters rely on contact-generated charges between pairs of materials situated at opposite ends of the triboelectric series, which is an empirical scale that ranks materials according to their charge donating/accepting tendencies. Such devices can be manufactured into yarns by coating a conductive core with a triboelectric material. However, current triboelectric yarns lack the power output, durability and washing resistance required for textile-based applications. This work addresses these issues by developing nanostructured functional polymer coatings, namely Nylon-11, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), using electrospinning, which is a widely used, scalable fiber-production method. These materials are selected because they respectively occupy the top, middle and bottom of the triboelectric series and are thus representative of a wide spectrum of triboelectric materials. Multiple electrospinning processing parameters including voltage polarity, humidity and polymer concentration are optimised to enhance energy harvesting performance and durability of triboelectric generators. The effects of processing on the resulting polymer crystal structure and surface properties, and subsequent…
abstract: Wearable biosensors embedded into smart textiles have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enabling the measurement of vital signs in real-time. However, the deployment of these devices is hindered by their power requirements. Current batteries are too bulky and rigid, and require frequent charging. A promising solution to this issue involves energy harvesting devices capable of transforming surrounding waste energy into useful electricity, potentially reducing the battery size and frequency of charging. Amongst energy harvesters, triboelectric generators are excellent candidates for smart textile applications due to their potential to convert mechanical energy arising from body movements into electrical energy. Typically, triboelectric energy harvesters rely on contact-generated charges between pairs of materials situated at opposite ends of the triboelectric series, which is an empirical scale that ranks materials according to their charge donating/accepting tendencies. Such devices can be manufactured into yarns by coating a conductive core with a triboelectric material. However, current triboelectric yarns lack the power output, durability and washing resistance required for textile-based applications. This work addresses these issues by developing nanostructured functional polymer coatings, namely Nylon-11, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), using electrospinning, which is a widely used, scalable fiber-production method. These materials are selected because they respectively occupy the top, middle and bottom of the triboelectric series and are thus representative of a wide spectrum of triboelectric materials. Multiple electrospinning processing parameters including voltage polarity, humidity and polymer concentration are optimised to enhance energy harvesting performance and durability of triboelectric generators. The effects of processing on the resulting polymer crystal structure and surface properties, and subsequent…
author: Busolo, Tommaso
language: eng
keywords: energy harvesting, smart textiles, triboelectric, electrospinning
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2021-07-27
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:01Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.85834