Perspectives on self-powered respiration sensor based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to outstanding energy converting capability enabled by the coupling between the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction. The excellent energy harvesting ability of TENG under low frequency and slight amplitude endows a unique superiority for self-powered respiratory detection. This Perspective systematically reviews recent progress on TENG motivated self-powered respiratory sensors. First, based on the four working modes of TENG, two types of self-powered respiratory sensors are discussed, including physical behavior monitoring and chemical reagents detection. Furthermore, the sensing mechanism, sensitive materials, device structures, and related application were comprehensively analyzed. Finally, the existing problems and development opportunities of self-powered respiration monitoring based on the triboelectric effect are interpreted in detail.