The forthcoming wearable health care devices garner considerable attention because of their potential for monitoring, treatment, and protection applications. Herein, a self-powered triboelectric patch was developed using polytetrafluoroethylene rubbed with nylon fabric. The triboelectric patch can maintain a stable electrostatic field, due to the excess electrification on the surface of the triboelectric layer. The designed triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) output watt density can reach about 485 mW/m2 with added resistance of 11 kΩ. Additionally, the performance of the triboelectric patch allowed eye movement monitoring. The maximum voltage could reach 80 V at the vertical distance of 20 mm between the frictional layer and collector. The triboelectric patch not only can power a digital watch for potential wearable applications but also can be integrated to monitor eye movements during sleep. This work proposed a mechanism for human movement energy harvesting, which may be used for self-powered smart wearable health equipment and Maxwell displacement current wireless sensors.
Keywords: electrostatic field; energy harvesting; self-powered; triboelectric nanogenerator; wearable health care.