Degradable Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on Chitosan Fibers for Smart Sensing

Monitoring integrated features of human perception throughelectronicskins (e-skins) facilitates developing artificial intelligence. Todate, some e-skins with good perception and adaptability have beenwidely used. However, the comfort, environmental protection, and antibacterialactivity of these e-skins have not been adequately studied. In thisstudy, we designed a sensitive, portable, biocompatible, and degradablee-skin for diverse mechanical power collection and respiratory statusdetection. A chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol) (CS-PVA) nanofibermembrane prepared using electrostatic spinning was glued to a degradablemagnesium electrode to prepare a degradable triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG). Because of the rough structure of the nanofiber, the peakpower density of the degradable TENG reaches 37.5 mW & BULL;m(-2) and the output voltage is 115 V. The degradable TENG can realizemonitoring of joint movements and physiological signals, and it canbe placed inside a mask to monitor human breathing by a self-poweredmanner. Additionally, the TENG can be degraded by soaking it in adegradation solution (acetic acid) for 3 days. These properties willhelp improve greener and more valuable applications for e-skins inwearable devices and smart sensing.