Stretchable and Robust All-in-One Tribovoltaic Textile for Sport and Fitness Tracking

Abstract

As emerging wearables, triboelectric textiles offer dual functionalities for sensing and energy harvesting, but often encounter challenges of alternating signal generation and high internal impedance. Recent advancements in tribovoltaic textile development still show limitations in device configuration and garment integration, and consequently in human motion tracking. Herein, we report a stretchable and robust all-in-one tribovoltaic textile (SR-ATVT) featuring a three-dimensional braided core–shell architecture. Due to the Schottky contact between the metal core and semiconductor shell, SR-ATVTs consistently produce self-rectifying direct current output throughout stretching–releasing cycles. The demonstrated SR-ATVT exhibits remarkable output stability under real-use-oriented scenarios (within 10 washing rounds, after 2600 continuous cycles, and over a 4-month storage period) and serves as both angle sensor and fitness tracker when further integrated into clothing. This study presents a pioneering approach to device configuration and wearable application of tribovoltaic textiles, paving the way for the development of next-generation smart triboelectric wearables.

Keywords

Tribovoltaic wearable / Stretchable all-in-one textile / Schottky contact / Long-term stability / Sport and fitness tracking

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Funding

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s)