A flexible triboelectric nanogenerator based on wave structure PDMS for joint monitoring in basketball training

Abstract

Recently, intelligent sports wearable devices have attracted widespread attention. Hence, we designed a wave-structure triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) for joint monitoring in basketball training. The self-powered pressure sensor is mainly composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and aluminum foil with corrugation characteristics. The wave structure of the PDMS film is designed based on sine waves, and results have indicated that the higher the amplitude, the higher the sensing performance of the W-TENG. Moreover, the W-TENG has two sensing monitoring areas. For low pressure areas, the sensing sensitivity of the W-TENG is 3.564 V kPa−1 and 37.644 nA kPa−1. For high pressure areas, the sensing sensitivity of the W-TENG is 0.024 V kPa−1 and 19.92 nA kPa−1. This W-TENG pressure sensor can be installed at the joints of basketball players’ bodies to monitor the degree of joint bending. This design can facilitate the development of wearable basketball training devices.