Cotton Based Self-Powered Temperature Sensor Based on Au-Augmented WS2 Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

Here, we demonstrate a Au-augmented WS₂ nanosheet-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a self-powered temperature sensor. In this work, a textile cotton platform is used to fabricate a flexible and wearable single-electrode TENG (STENG). Various triboelectric counter layers such as Al, PTFE and PET are used to investigate the triboelectric operation. Among all the counter electrode systems, the AuWS₂-PTFE pair-based STENG is found to generate the highest output voltage (~11.6 V) and yields power of 0.64 μW. The STENG also charges an external capacitor up to 60 nC within 10 s. In addition, the STENG can generate higher output voltage when contacted with PTFE in elevated temperature, thus revealing the temperature sensing property. The sensitivity of this STENG-based temperature sensor is found to be ~0.14 V k⁻¹. Further, the variation in output voltage when exposed to the human body at higher temperature demonstrates the ability for sensing of body temperature. The stability and durability performance of the fabricated STENG demonstrates its potential for long-term application. The present study sheds light on wearable sensing devices and paves the way for the development of self-powered temperature sensor prototypes based on WS₂. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]