All-cellulose triboelectric textile with complete biodegradability for eco-friendly smart wearable electronics

The booming of the triboelectric textiles (TENG-Ts) in recent years is accompanied with the e-waste crisis and a huge hidden danger to the natural environment, thus it is highly desired to create the eco-friendly TENG-Ts with degradability for the sustainable development of the smart textiles. In this study, we fabricated a regenerated cellulose-based TENG-T (RC TENG-T) with complete biodegradability through braiding and knitting technology, in which two friction layers were chemically modified by using two silane hydrolysates with opposite electro-affinity. The energy harvesting ability of the RC TENG-T was significantly improved, and the open-circuit voltages (<i>V</i>_OC) and short-circuit current (<i>I</i>_SC) were enhanced to nearly 9.8 V and 160 nA respectively. The RC TENG-T can be completely bio-degraded under the function of cellulase after 72 h, endowing it with wide application potential as eco-friendly smart wearable devices including microelectronics power source and self-powered sensor with capability of monitoring human physical conditions and the external pressure.