Enhanced High-Resolution Triboelectrification-Induced Electroluminescence for Self-Powered Visualized Interactive Sensing.

Transforming dynamic mechanical interactions into visualized luminescence represents a research frontier in the detection of tactile stimuli. Here, we report a self-powered high-resolution triboelectrification-induced electroluminescence (HR-TIEL) sensor for visualizing the contact profile and the dynamic trajectory of a contact object. As dynamic interactions occurs, triboelectric charges at the contact interface generates a transient electric field that excites the phosphor. From numerical simulation, a conductive layer based on transparent silver nanowires (AgNWs) guides the direction of the electric field and confines it within the profile boundary of the connect object. As a result, a sharp change of the electric field at the profile boundary greatly promotes the luminescence intensity as well as the lateral spatial resolution. Compared to a TIEL sensor without the conductive layer, the luminescence intensity is enhanced by 90%, and the lateral spatial resolution of ~ 500 μm is achieved. The HR-TIEL is then demonstrated to reveal the surface texture on a nitrile glove. It relies on neither additional power supplies nor complex wiring/circuit design. This work paves the way for a feasible detection of tactile stimuli such as touch and slipping, which will be potentially used in robotics, human-machine interface, flexible and wearable electronics, etc.