Bentonite nanosheets-incorporated silk fibroin double-network hydrogel as a multifunctional triboelectric sensor for real-time monitoring of basketball motion in virtual reality

A mechanically reinforced and highly conductive silk fibroin/polyacrylamide/bentonite double-network hydrogel is designed. • The optimized nanogenerator delivers stable pressure- and frequency-dependent outputs with excellent operational durability. • The nanogenerator enables real-time sensing for gait analysis, Morse code, and basketball montion in virtual reality. Silk fibroin (SF)-based hydrogels have emerged as promising electrodes for flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) due to their biocompatibility and flexibility. However, their intrinsic weaknesses in mechanical strength and conductivity hinder practical applications. Herein, we introduce a synergistic design that combines hierarchical molecular ordering with nanofiller-facilitated ionic conduction to construct a silk fibroin/polyacrylamide/bentonite double-network hydrogel (SPBH), effectively overcoming the longstanding trade-off between mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. The introduction of bentonite nanosheets induces β-sheet crystallization in SF chains while establishing interconnected conductive pathways, effectively resolving the historical trade-off between mechanical robustness and electrical performance. The optimized SPBH demonstrates exceptional tensile strength, high ionic conductivity, and remarkable sensitivity to dynamic stimuli. More importantly, a skin-conformal SPBH-based TENG sensor (SPBH-TS) is fabricated, which achieves stable pressure/frequency responses and operational durability exceeding 10,000 cycles. Our SPBH-TS enables non-invasive monitoring of physiological signals, including joint kinematics and gait patterns, while functioning as a self-powered interface for Morse code communication. To further validate its multifunctionality, an immersive basketball training platform is constructed through integration with Unity 3D and Steam VR frameworks, thereby demonstrating SPBH-TS’s capability in adaptive human-computer interaction. Our work has established a scalable design paradigm for self-powered sensors, ensuring the safety of wearable devices through the encapsulation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and has laid the groundwork for next-generation wearable technology applications in areas such as health monitoring, IoT systems, and interactive virtual environments. Download: Download high-res image (209KB) Download: Download full-size image