Light-Emitting Visual Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-Powered Personal Security

Electronic skin can convert mechanical stimuli into multimodal signals and can provide a cost-effective and complementary approach to environmental sensing. Here, light-emitting PVDF-HFP/GO-ZnS:Cu (PH-GZ) composite films were synthesized for visual triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which can convert mechanical stimuli into both real-time photoemission and electric signals. The lower the trigger pressure threshold, the higher the sensitive response to subtle contact. Thus, the surface topography of approaching objects can be displayed visually with high brightness according to the physical contact. A quick-response safe drawer system was thus developed, relying on TENG-based personal information identification. Only when the obtained triboelectric-photoelectric signal matches the preset code can the drawer be opened. The as-designed durable visual TENGs with an open-circuit voltage of 32 V and a short-circuit current of 4.078 mA/m2 promote self-powered TENG applications in areas of personal information security and tactile sensing systems.