Abstract:

Significance With population aging and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, continuous health monitoring has become increasingly important. Conventional medical devices and consumer-grade equipment rely on chemical batteries or external power sources, which limits monitoring continuity, wearing comfort, and sustainability. Textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can convert mechanical energy generated by human motion into electrical energy through contact electrification and electrostatic induction. This self-powered feature allows real-time monitoring of physiological signals without external energy input. Moreover, textile-based TENGs possess flexibility, breathability, and compatibility with textile manufacturing processes, thus well-suitable for wearable devices and long-term health management scenarios. Therefore, reviewing the development of textile-based TENGs in human health monitoring is of great significance for guiding high-performance material design, scalable fabrication process optimization, and intelligent integration.

Progress Since the concept of TENGs was proposed in 2012, textile-based TENGs have achieved rapid progress in materials, structures, and functionalities. This review summarizes their working principles and four fundamental modes: contact-separation, lateral-sliding, single-electrode, and independent modes. In material design, research has focused on optimizing the performance of both the friction layer and the electrode. Typical friction materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and polyamide fiber can enhance charge transfer efficiency. The use of metal-based, carbon-based, and conductive polymer-based electrodes has improved conductivity and durability. Different types of electrodes show different trade-offs in conductivity, flexibility, and wearing comfort. Therefore, rational pairing of the friction layer and electrode layer is crucial for achieving high-performance textile-based TENGs. Fiber/yarn-based TENG fabrication methods include coating, yarn-wrapping, weaving, wet-spinning, and electrospinning. Among them, coating and yarn-wrapping are simple and suitable for initial applications, while weaving and wet-spinning offer better structural stability and industrialization potential. Electrospinning can produce nanofiber yarns with high specific surface area, improving charge density and electrical output. However, it still suffers from poor wear resistance and low production efficiency. In recent years, textile-based TENGs have been increasingly explored for health monitoring applications. In daily life monitoring, TENGs are adopted to detect basic physiological signals such as respiration, heart rate, and gait, supporting continuous tracking of physical activity and posture. Integrated into bedding or clothing arrays, they can monitor pressure distribution for sleep analysis and behavioral observation. In clinical scenarios, these devices can record pulse, vascular signals, and muscle activity, providing data support for disease diagnosis and rehabilitation assistance. These advancements indicate that textile-based TENGs are gradually evolving from laboratory prototypes to multifunctional smart fabrics. Such systems are capable of self-powered physiological sensing and environmental adaptability.

Conclusion and Prospect Although textile-based TENGs provide an effective technical pathway for self-powered continuous health monitoring, they still face several challenges including (1) limited effective contact area restricting charge density and output performance; (2) demands for suitable storage circuits for the generated alternating current, increasing system complexity and affecting flexibility and comfort; (3) degraded output performance due to mechanical wear, repeated deformation, and washing over long-term use; and (4) complex and costly fabrication processes limiting industrial-scale production. Future research directions have been proposed. High-performance and durable friction materials should be developed to maintain stable surface charges while exhibiting excellent mechanical properties. Fabrication techniques compatible with textile processes should be optimized to enable scalable production. Integration of TENGs with artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) should be strongly promoted into intelligent health data collection and management. Interdisciplinary collaboration across materials science, biomedical engineering, and energy technologies should be strengthened to achieve multifunctional integration and standardize device performance evaluation. Textile-based TENGs are expected to lead the next generation of wearable health monitoring devices and promote the widespread application of smart textiles.

Key words: triboelectric nanogenerator, smart textiles, triboelectric textiles, wearable device, health monitoring