UAH researchers use adhesive tape to generate electricity for low-cost, self-powered wearable biosensors and energy harvesting

UAH researchers use adhesive tape to generate electricity for low-cost, self-powered wearable biosensors and energy harvesting

May 16, 2025 - HUNTSVILLE, AL. – A research team at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has published a new paper in American Chemical Society Omega that demonstrates inexpensive store-bought tape can be used to craft a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) capable of harvesting electrical energy from various sources, including human movement and environmental conditions, to power small devices like wearable biosensors. TENGs convert mechanical energy, such as friction or movement, into electricity using the triboelectric effect, a phenomenon that involves transferring a charge between two materials in contact with one another by generating a voltage when the materials are separated.

The latest breakthrough, led by Dr. Moonhyung Jang, a research scientist at UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System, and Dr. Gang Wang, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, builds on the team's earlier research. In the previous study, the team stacked layers of double-sided tape, plastic film and aluminum to form an effective, low-cost TENG. When the layers of tape were pressed together and pulled apart, a small amount of electricity was harvested. But the tape's stickiness proved problematic, requiring a lot of force to detach the layers. 

For the improved TENG, the researchers replaced the double-sided tape with layers of thicker single-sided tape, where power is generated instead by the interaction between the polypropylene backing of the tape and the acrylic adhesive layer. The smooth surfaces stick and unstick easily from one another, enabling the new TENG to be rapidly connected and disconnected, generating more power in a shorter amount of time than before. This was made possible by placing the TENG atop a vibrational plate that bounced the tape layers apart, generating electricity as they came into contact and separated repeatedly.

"I wanted to try different types of Scotch™ tape to see if they would provide a compatible amount of power as double-sided tape," Jang explains. "After trying various combinations, we were able to generate even higher power. Also, since contact and separation only occur on smooth surfaces with the new TENG, we no longer have to worry about sticky surfaces of double-sided tape. Therefore, it can operate at very high frequencies, up to 300 Hz."

The new device produces a maximum power of 53 milliwatts, enough to light 350 LED lights as well as a laser pointer. The team also incorporated the improved TENG into two sensors: an acoustic sensor for sound waves and a self-powered, wearable biosensor for detecting arm movements that lead to things like devices that measure human muscle activation to potentially prevent injuries and enhance athletic performance.

The project was supported in part by the Charger Innovation Fund at UAH, as well as the efforts of a number of UAH faculty and students. "Dr. Wang and I were greatly assisted by Dr. Abdelkader Frendi, a mechanical and aerospace (MAE) professor and an expert in acoustic research; Dr. Ryan Conners, the chair and associate professor of the Department of Kinesiology and an expert in exercise physiology; Dr. Yu Lei, the chair and associate professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Sean Rabbitte, an MAE undergraduate student and Lockheed systems engineer who helped develop the design of the vibration-based energy harvester."

Looking to the future, the UAH team already has a plan mapped out for TENG devices.

"We will continue our research with various applications and designs. We have submitted a disclosure on energy harvesting and wearable biosensors. A patent application will be submitted soon," Jang adds. "We're also working on a sound sensor disclosure. One of the biggest challenges with TENG devices is their low operating frequency (<5Hz). Our design demonstrates operation up to 300 Hz, which is a significant improvement over existing designs. Moreover, generating more power from the environment will lead to a wider range of applications. Currently, TENG is only useful for sensor applications. If it could produce more power, it could be useful for other things, like charging batteries."