Self-powered smart textile with mechano-thermal bi-modal response for extreme environment applications

Addressing the micro-energy requirements of distributed intelligent terminals in the Internet of Things (IoT), energy harvesting technologies present a sustainable pathway for powering smart wearable electronics. However, their operational reliability under extreme environmental conditions constitutes a major barrier to practical implementation. Therefore, this study fabricated a multi-scale triboelectric-piezoelectric synergistic yarn through integrated electrospinning and weaving methods, positioned for application in rescue protective clothing under high-temperature and mechanical impact environments. The multi-layered architecture of the yarn enables the integration of key functionalities essential for operation in harsh environments, including flame retardancy, thermal insulation, impact resistance and thermochromic visual warning. The resulting CPBPT exhibits a wide operating temperature range of 0–300 °C. Moreover, it can maintain stable output voltage after 300 bending cycles, 300 friction cycles, or 10 washing cycles. By leveraging its dual responsiveness to mechanical and thermal stimuli, an intelligent bi-modal perception system was constructed. This system demonstrates high recognition accuracies of 99.6% (mechanical) and 94.55% (thermal), respectively. This work proposes a novel energy-harvesting material based on triboelectric-piezoelectric synergy and establishes a material-level design paradigm for next-generation self-powered systems capable of operating reliably in harsh environments.