Recipient organisationUniversity of ExeterSource-published name: University of Exeter
Funding£206K
PeriodJun 2025 — Jun 2027
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
Wearable electronics need a new way to power themselves without relying on bulky, short-lived lithium-ion batteries. The TENG-NISPW project will develop triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs)—devices that convert mechanical motion into electricity—printed from conductive nanomaterial inks onto flexible fabrics. These inks are based on two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDCs), whose surface properties can be precisely tuned to improve electrical output. This matters because current wearable sensors, from health monitors to smart textiles, are tethered to batteries that limit their lifetime, sustainability, and comfort. Scaling up production from prototypes to real products has also been stymied by manufacturing processes that cannot easily switch between customisation and mass production. If successful, the project could enable self-powered weight sensors and other wearable devices that harvest energy from the wearer’s own movements. That would eliminate the need for frequent recharging or battery replacement, making continuous health monitoring more practical. The manufacturing approach—using solution-processable inks and flexible substrates—could also translate to other printed electronics, from smart packaging to industrial sensors. This is fundamental science in materials engineering, but similar work on printed electronics has already led to flexible displays and low-cost medical test strips.
View original technical description
In the development of wearable and flexible electronics, the demanding requirements for ultrathin, lightweight, and textile interfaced wearable sensor systems create challenges in power supply and in designs for low power operation. To date, most portable and wearable electronic devices are powered by conventional electrochemical Li-ion batteries, which are extremely restricted in their lifetime, sustainable operation, and environmental issues. There is a need to develop manufacturing processes that easily translate from prototyping to production and back whenever there is a need for customizing the technology. There is also a need for materials that would enable these technologies to be scaled up so that they became real products rather than prototypes or proofs-of-concept. TENG-NISPW will address cutting-edge research in material science, engineering, and physics, which will rely on the realization of TENG based on conductive nanomaterial inks. TENG-NISPW will take advantage of the precision with which 2D-TMDCs can be tailored by ink routes, and from the versatility with which their surface functionalities can further influence their electrical properties. This project has the ambition to transform the scenario of wearable energy technologies by developing a conceptually new class of high performance TENG. This breakthrough will exploit an unexplored synergy of 2D-TMDCs and device design drawing on flexible substrates. In particular, this proposal explores for the first time the combination of (i) novel fabrication methods with (ii) conceptually innovative functionalization and (iii) unprecedented device geometries. We will exploit solution-processable routes to deposit 2DTMDCs and surface engineering to further influence their electrical properties.
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