scholarly journals Advances in Smart Sensing and Medical Electronics by Self-Powered Sensors Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 698
Author(s):  
Min Jiang ◽  
Yi Lu ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhu ◽  
Wenzhu Jia

With the rapid progress of artificial intelligence, humans are moving toward the era of the intelligent connection of all things. Therefore, the demand for sensors is drastically increasing with developing intelligent social applications. Traditional sensors must be triggered by an external power source and the energy consumption is high for equipment that is widely distributed and working intermittently, which is not conducive to developing sustainable green and healthy applications. However, self-powered sensors based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) can autonomously harvest energy from the surrounding environment and convert this energy into electrical energy for storage. Sensors can also be self-powered without an external power supply, which is vital for smart cities, smart homes, smart transportation, environmental monitoring, wearable devices, and bio-medicine. This review mainly summarizes the working mechanism of TENG and the research progress of self-powered sensors based on TENG about the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, human–computer interaction, and intelligent medical fields in recent years.

Biosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 342
Author(s):  
Meng Wang ◽  
Guangting Zi ◽  
Jiajun Liu ◽  
Yutong Song ◽  
Xishan Zhao ◽  
...  

Creatinine has become an important indicator for the early detection of uremia. However, due to the disadvantages of external power supply and large volume, some commercial devices for detecting creatinine concentration have lost a lot of popularity in everyday life. This paper describes the development of a self-powered biosensor for detecting creatinine in sweat. The biosensor can detect human creatinine levels in real time without the need for an external power source, providing information about the body’s overall health. The piezoelectric output voltage of creatininase/creatinase/sarcosine oxidase-modified ZnO nanowires (NWs) is significantly dependent on the creatinine concentration due to the coupling effect of the piezoelectric effect and enzymatic reaction (piezo-enzymatic-reaction effect), which can be regarded as both electrical energy and biosensing signal. Our results can be used for the detection of creatinine levels in the human body and have great potential in the prediction of related diseases.


2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Elvin ◽  
A Elvin ◽  
D. H Choi

All existing methods of embedded damage-detecting sensors require an external power source and a means of transmitting the data to a central processor. This paper presents a novel self-powered strain sensor capable of transmitting data wirelessly to a remote receiver. This paper illustrates the performance of the sensor through the theoretical and experimental analysis of a simple damaged beam. The results show that a sensor powered through the conversion of mechanical to electrical energy is viable for detecting damage. The potential benefits of this sensor include ease of implementation during manufacture of the structure, and the use of an environmentally safe and renewable power source.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 863-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanyu Bu ◽  
Fujiang Li ◽  
Kai Yin ◽  
Jinbo Pang ◽  
Licheng Wang ◽  
...  

Nanoscale ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (47) ◽  
pp. 18579-18583 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Liu ◽  
G. H. Li ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
Y. Y. Wang ◽  
T. Li ◽  
...  

A self-powered gas sensor activated by visible light which can detect trace concentrations of gas molecules without an external power source.


Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Linglin Zhou ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Lixia He ◽  
Xia Cao ◽  
...  

Electrochemistry, one of the most important research and production technology, has been widely applicated in various fields. However, the requirement of external power source is a major challenge to its development. To solve this issue, developing self-powered electrochemical system (SPES) that can work by collecting energy from the environment is highly desired. The invention of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which can transform mechanical energy into electricity, is a promising approach to build SPES by integrating with electrochemistry. In this view, the latest representative achievements of SPES based on TENG are comprehensively reviewed. By harvesting various mechanical energy, five SPESs are built, including electrochemical pollutants treatment, electrochemical synthesis, electrochemical sensor, electrochromic reaction, and anticorrosion system, according to the application domain. Additionally, the perspective for promoting the development of SPES is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-183
Author(s):  
Rongxin Guan ◽  
Ziqi Wang ◽  
Xinchao Gao ◽  
Mailun Shen ◽  
Xihong Wang ◽  
...  

Real-time monitoring of the position and duration of the snowboarder's grab in the air plays an very important role in scientifically improving the stability and innovation of the movement. Meanwhile, it also provides accurate scientific basis and judgment for the judges to identify the movement in the competition. By using four-needle ZnO nanowires combined with ordinary textile fabrics, a flexible device that can be attached to skis has been created. The device could output piezoelectric signals (working without external power source) served as both power source and sensing signal. Based on this, a snowboard has been modified to monitor the contact position and duration, when any touch or grab occurs on the snowboard. Undeniably, this work has created a new and more scientific monitoring system for snowboarding competitions and training. In addition, it's provide a viable method to promote the directions of sport competitions and equipment with constantly updating portable equipment.


Biosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Jefferson Honorio Franco ◽  
Shelley D. Minteer ◽  
Adalgisa R. De Andrade

Biofuel cells use chemical reactions and biological catalysts (enzymes or microorganisms) to produce electrical energy, providing clean and renewable energy. Enzymatic biofuel cells (EBFCs) have promising characteristics and potential applications as an alternative energy source for low-power electronic devices. Over the last decade, researchers have focused on enhancing the electrocatalytic activity of biosystems and on increasing energy generation and electronic conductivity. Self-powered biosensors can use EBFCs while eliminating the need for an external power source. This review details improvements in EBFC and catalyst arrangements that will help to achieve complete substrate oxidation and to increase the number of collected electrons. It also describes how analytical techniques can be employed to follow the intermediates between the enzymes within the enzymatic cascade. We aim to demonstrate how a high-performance self-powered sensor design based on EBFCs developed for ethanol detection can be adapted and implemented in power devices for biosensing applications.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 8422
Author(s):  
Zetian Yang ◽  
Zhongtai Zhu ◽  
Zixuan Chen ◽  
Mingjia Liu ◽  
Binbin Zhao ◽  
...  

The development of artificial intelligence and the Internet of things has motivated extensive research on self-powered flexible sensors. The conventional sensor must be powered by a battery device, while innovative self-powered sensors can provide power for the sensing device. Self-powered flexible sensors can have higher mobility, wider distribution, and even wireless operation, while solving the problem of the limited life of the battery so that it can be continuously operated and widely utilized. In recent years, the studies on piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have mainly concentrated on self-powered flexible sensors. Self-powered flexible sensors based on PENGs and TENGs have been reported as sensing devices in many application fields, such as human health monitoring, environmental monitoring, wearable devices, electronic skin, human–machine interfaces, robots, and intelligent transportation and cities. This review summarizes the development process of the sensor in terms of material design and structural optimization, as well as introduces its frontier applications in related fields. We also look forward to the development prospects and future of self-powered flexible sensors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 1394-1401
Author(s):  
Liangyi Zhang ◽  
Huan Li ◽  
Yiyuan Xie ◽  
Jing Guo ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhu

Recently, there has been growing interest in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) that can effectively convert various forms of mechanical energy input into electrical energy. In the present study, a novel Teflon/vitamin B1 powder based triboelectric nanogenerator (TVB-TENG) is proposed. Paper is utilized as a supporting platform for triboelectrification between a commercial Teflon tape and vitamin B1 powder. The measured open-circuit voltage was approximately 340 V. The TVB-TENG can be applied as a humidity sensor and exhibits a linear and reversible response to the relative humidity of the environment. Moreover, the change in relative humidity is also indicated by the change in luminosity of a set of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) integrated in the TVB-TENG system. The TVB-TENG proposed in this study illustrates a cost-effective method for portable power supply and sensing devices.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 3715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaiza Montes-Cebrián ◽  
Albert Álvarez-Carulla ◽  
Jordi Colomer-Farrarons ◽  
Manel Puig-Vidal ◽  
Pere Ll. Miribel-Català

In this work, we present a self-powered electronic reader (e-reader) for point-of-care diagnostics based on the use of a fuel cell (FC) which works as a power source and as a sensor. The self-powered e-reader extracts the energy from the FC to supply the electronic components concomitantly, while performing the detection of the fuel concentration. The designed electronics rely on straightforward standards for low power consumption, resulting in a robust and low power device without needing an external power source. Besides, the custom electronic instrumentation platform can process and display fuel concentration without requiring any type of laboratory equipment. In this study, we present the electronics system in detail and describe all modules that make up the system. Furthermore, we validate the device’s operation with different emulated FCs and sensors presented in the literature. The e-reader can be adjusted to numerous current ranges up to 3 mA, with a 13 nA resolution and an uncertainty of 1.8%. Besides, it only consumes 900 µW in the low power mode of operation, and it can operate with a minimum voltage of 330 mV. This concept can be extended to a wide range of fields, from biomedical to environmental applications.


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