Optimized Tribo Electric Nano Generators can monitor abnormal walking in teenagers

A team dedicated to designing energy conversion devices led by Wailin Chen of Northeast Normal University in Changchun, designed the Trivielectric nanogenerator based on changes in the nanomorphology of polyoxometalate for walking monitoring in teenagers. Flexible, lightweight, and portable trivial electro-nanogerators are currently widely used in the field of wearable devices and have potential application values ​​for walking monitoring. Designed by the team, the nanogenerators can be sensitive to the unusual walking of teenagers who can advance research in this field.

The team published a paper on January 13th, 2025 in Nano Research.

“In this article, our research team selected the trivia electrical material to assemble triboelectric nanogerators to take advantage of the benefits of polyoxometalate nanomaterials to select POMS nanorods as triboelectric materials. We conducted a series of performance tests to confirm the improvement in performance. Results,” said Chen Weilin, corresponding author and professor of the article in the Faculty of Chemistry at Northeast Normal University.

Polyoxometallate (POM) nanomaterials synthesized by constructing POMs by incorporating POMs into nanostructures have been extensively studied in the past decades. They have the advantages of the excellent physical and chemical properties of POMs, as well as small size, rich surface morphology, and large specific surface area lacking in traditional materials.

In recent years, the development and use of renewable and clean energy has become a research hotspot. The team led by Professor Chen has published several articles in recent years on the application of POM in the Teng field, revealing the unique possibilities of POM in Teng applications.

Professor Chen said, “We would like to expand the field of application of polyoxometalate, exploit the benefits of polyoxometalate nanomaterials, and investigate the potential value in the field of nanogereal factors.”

The team used six different sized POMS nanorods (AG4SIW12O40, NH2O) synthesized through self-assembly of POMS (H4SIW12O40, NH2O) as tribilectic material for assembling the Teng. Consisting of nanorods with diameters of 100 nm and lengths of 400-1000 nm, Teng has optimal performance in voltage, current density and charge, with 104.3 V, 1127.1 μA‧M-2 and 15.38 NC, respectively.

The optimized Teng maintained a voltage of approximately 100 V through a 1000-second stability test. The maximum power is 25.2μW with an external resistor of 500MΩ. The reason for the improved performance of Nanorods Teng compared to Poms Teng is the increased roughness and surface potential seen in AFM and KPFM tests.

The team determines that POMS Nanorods Teng can achieve significant performance improvements, providing new ideas on the selection of triboelectric materials and a new research perspective for the chemistry of polyoxometalates.

Teens are at a critical period of skeletal development, during which false walking not only affects their appearance, but also leads to posture bending, poor athletic ability and an increased risk of sports injuries. Timely surveillance of abnormal walking in teenagers is important for physical health and development.

Professor Chen’s team applied optimized tens to the left and right feet of various teenagers to monitor abnormal walking. Changes in voltage can be sensitive to walking inconsistencies and abnormal situations. This study confirms the potential and unique benefits of POMS nanomaterials as triboelectric materials and provides a design scheme for walking monitoring.

The team said they have conducted more in-depth research into the application of POMS Nanorods Tengs for walking monitoring and are striving to pull the application out of the laboratory as soon as possible. “We will continue to develop more POMS nanomaterials with outstanding performance in the Tengs field through design and modification of POMS materials,” said Wei-Lin Chen.

The Chinese research team includes Yijia Hao, Tuo Ji, Jing Zhang and Weilin Chen from Northeast Ordinary University in Changchun, Jiling County, China.