Intelligent facemask based on triboelectric nanogenerator for respiratory monitoring

Qixin Lu; Hong Chen; Yuanming Zeng; Jiehui Xue; Xia Cao; Ning Wang; Zhonglin Wang

doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106612

Intelligent facemask based on triboelectric nanogenerator for respiratory monitoring

Nano Energy. 2022 Jan:91:106612. doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106612. Epub 2021 Oct 12.

Authors

Qixin Lu^{1

2}, Hong Chen^{1

2}, Yuanming Zeng^{2

3}, Jiehui Xue^{1

2}, Xia Cao^{1

2

4

3}, Ning Wang⁵, Zhonglin Wang^{1

2

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Center on Nanoenergy Research, School of Physical Science & Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
² Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China.
³ School of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological engineering, and Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of New Energy Materials and Technologies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
⁵ Center for Green Innovation, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
⁶ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.

Abstract

The fast-spreading of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been sweeping around the globe and brought heavy casualties and economic losses, which creates dire needs for technological solutions into medical preventive actions. In this work, triboelectric nanogenerator for respiratory sensing (RS-TENG) has been designed and integrated with facemask, which endows the latter with respiratory monitoring function. The output of RS-TENG for respiratory flow can reach up to about 8 V and 0.8 μA respectively although it varies with different respiratory status, which proves the high sensitivity of RS-TENG for respiratory monitoring. An apnea alarm system can be constructed by combining the smart facemask with circuit modules so that timely alarm can be transmitted after people stop breathing. Furthermore, RS-TENG can be used to control household appliances, which brings convenience to the life of the disabled people. Considering its incomparable advantages such as small volume, easy fabrication, simple installation and economical applicability, such design is helpful for developing multifunctional health monitoring gadgets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Respiratory sensing; Self-powered; Triboelectric nanogenerator.