Multichromatic Construction in Self-powered Interactive Sensing Display via Triboelectrification-induced Electroluminescence

Description

User-interactive displays, which can detect and visualize sensible but invisible information such as touch, smell, and sound, are of great significance in the upcoming hyper-connected society. Interactive displays typically involve a stimuli-responsive sensor and a human-readable apparatus. To date, several interactive sensing displays have been developed for visualizing environmental changes in pressure, temperature, and humidity. These interactive displays are usually based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and alternating current-driven electroluminescence (ACEL) devices, which need an external electrical energy supply for light emission. Such operation mode causes energy dissipation and limits the widespread application of interactive displays. Ideally, there are rich energy resources in the natural environment, such as solar energy, thermal energy, and ubiquitous mechanical energy. Therefore, harvesting energy from the ambient environment, especially ubiquitous mechanical energy, can offer a sustainable solution to the energy supply issue of interactive displays. In previous attempts, interactive displays have been achieved by means of mechanical-to-optical energy conversion, known as mechanoluminescence (ML). However, ML processes are typically triggered by high threshold stress (in the order of MPa), leading to unsatisfactory brightness in many applications that can hardly be perceived under ambient light conditions. Besides, the sensitivity is limited because the ML signals merely reveal intensity contrast in response to stimulus variation such as dynamic change of stress. In this regard, we proposed to develop high-brightness interactive sensing displays based on triboelectrification-induced electroluminescence (TIEL) that can be excited by extremely weak stimuli (< 10 KPa). We seek to devise a class of novel devices that combine high-output triboelectric nanogenerators with multicomponent electroluminescent active layers. We aim to achieve self-powered, durable, and highly efficient systems that accurately visualize external stimulus change through multicolor switching. The developments will enable potential applications such as pressure mapping and personal information security, which are expected to render self-sustainable light and pave the way for new wearable electronics with reduced energy consumption.