An Eco-friendly Cellulose Paper-Based Tactile Sensor Driven by the Triboelectric Effect

Tactile sensors are an important area in developing electronic skins and human–machine interfacing. Herein, we reported an eco-friendly cellulose paper based tactile sensor driven by a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Enabled by the surface modification of polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) and polypyrrole (PPy), the triboelectric negative performance and conductivity of cellulose paper were improved; therefore, the modified cellulose paper could be applied to the triboelectric negative material and electrode for TENG. At the contact and separation mode (CS mode), the short-circuit current (ISC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), and power density of the corresponding device were improved to 0.52 μA, 11.6 V, and 736.9 μW/m2. In addition, a single-electrode TENG based on this modified cellulose paper was also obtained by pairing it with human skin. The results indicated that this single-electrode TENG could generate a voltage of 23.8 V, current of 1.1 μA, and surface charge of 4.3 nC. Meanwhile, a tactile sensor for written stroke recognition based on the single-electrode TENG was also demonstrated.