Robust, Scalable, and Triboelectric-Responsive Superhydrophobic Coating for Versatile Smart City Applications

Abstract

Self-powered sensing networks are essential for smart city infrastructure, with triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) emerging as a promising technology for distributed sensing and energy harvesting. However, widespread TENG implementation is hindered by moisture-induced charge dissipation in urban environments. While superhydrophobic surfaces can mitigate this issue, existing coatings lack sufficient triboelectric properties for effective charge generation, while suffering from mechanical fragility that limits practical deployment. Herein, a triboelectric-responsive superhydrophobic coating (TRSC) is reported that achieves thorough drying within 90 s at room temperature with remarkable cost-effectiveness (