Work

Electrode Engineering for Triboelectric Nanogenerators: Materials, Structures, Fabrication and Applications

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a powerful route for translating mechanical interactions into electrical signals, offering unique opportunities for self-powered sensing and human-machine interfaces (HMIs). Yet a persistent gap remains between high-performance laboratory demonstrations and reliable, scalable systems for real-world use. This gap arises not only from triboelectric materials or device configurations, but also from the electrode, which has long been viewed as a passive charge collector. In practical TENG systems, electrodes must simultaneously enable efficient charge extraction, stable electromechanical contact, mechanical compliance, environmental robustness and manufacturable integration. These requirements are strongly coupled and often conflicting, making electrode design a central bottleneck in the development of application-ready TENGs. In this Review, we position electrode engineering as an integrated strategy that connects material design, structural configuration and fabrication methodology. We discuss how these dimensions jointly define device output, durability, scalability and application boundaries, with particular emphasis on self-powered HMIs. By reframing electrodes as active functional interfaces, this Review provides design principles for next-generation triboelectric devices and intelligent self-powered systems.

Source: Processes

DOI: 10.3390/pr14172683