Self-powered all-nanofiber Janus textile E-skin sensor with air permeability and anti-fouling for human–machine interactions

Abstract

As development of Internet of Things, the E-skin sensor urgently needs to break through the constraints of sensing reliability, miniaturization, and portability. Occurrence of smart textile of integrated triboelectric nanogenerator, bring the endless possibility for exploring advanced sensor, which possess inimitable lightweight, permeability, flexibility, and washability. Herein, an all-nanofiber Janus textile with multi-layer structure was fabricated by continuously electrospinning and electrospray technologies, acting as a self-powered E-skin sensor. After triboelectric layer was modified by fluorinated polyurethane, the optimal triboelectric output reach 356 V, 2.88 μA, 80.12 nC, and 2.49 W m⁻², which could power small electronics via rectifier circuit. The great sensitivity (6.79 kPa⁻¹), operational stability, and air permeability (1010.55 g m⁻²•24 h⁻¹) was realized. As a proof-of-concept, an intelligent Janus textile-based system was fabricated, the precise control of robotic hand and accurate identification of material were realized with assistance of electric circuit module and deep learning (one-dimensional convolutional neural networks), which would present tactile identification for further intelligent robotics and human-machine interaction (HMI).