Sustainable Energy Textile Triboelectric Nanogenerators: A Concise Review of Technologies, Materials, and Smart Clothing Applications

Abstract

This study presents a concise review of current progress in made mainly of textile materials triboelectric nanogenerators (t-TENGs) with a focus on sustainable energy harvesting for smart clothing applications. The aim is to provide a structured evaluation of advancements in triboelectric materials, textile architectures, and eco-friendly fabrication strategies that enhance electrical performance, mechanical durability, and environmental compatibility. Recent developments involving materials such as PTFE, PDMS, Ecoflex, MXenes, and bio-derived polymers, combined with advanced textile structures such as knitted, woven, multilayer, and three-dimensional woven structures have enabled significant improvements in output voltage, current generation, flexibility, and washability. Such developments enable diverse applications such as self-powered motion sensing, physiological monitoring, interaction between humans and machines, and wearable systems of the Internet of Things (IoT). In particular, the incorporation of TENGs into structurally engineered textiles enables energy harvesting utilising realistic deflection modes such as extension, compression, and sliding. However, key challenges remain, including limited wash resistance, trade-offs between breathability and performance, and the need for scalable, sustainable manufacturing. In addition, the lack of standardized evaluation methods and comprehensive theoretical models for textile-specific triboelectric behaviour limits design optimization and comparability between studies. Textile-based TENGs represent a promising pathway toward autonomous, eco-friendly wearable systems with reduced dependence on traditional energy supplying.