A Review of Textile-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators from the Perspective of Multi-scale Textile Manufacturing: Materials, Structural Design, and Applications

With the rapid advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable electronics, and smart healthcare, traditional batteries face challenges in power supply, including leakage, added weight, limited capacity, and frequent recharging, making it difficult to meet the long-term and stable operation requirements of flexible electronic systems. Meanwhile, the mechanical energy inherent in human motion has garnered significant attention as a sustainable energy source. Since the advent of the Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG), it has advanced rapidly in energy harvesting and self-powered sensing due to its favourable air permeability, softness, and compatibility with mature textile manufacturing processes. However, current textile-based TENGs (T-TENGs) still face challenges, including low output power density and a trade off between wearing comfort and electrical performance. Existing reviews primarily focus on material selection and modification, with less systematic discussion on the influence of yarn and fabric structures on performance. This paper presents a review from the perspective of multiscale textile structures and manufacturing. It first introduces the working principles, material selection, and modification strategies of T-TENGs. Subsequently, it focuses on structural design at the yarn and fabric levels, analysing how structural factors such as contact area, contact distance, and surface roughness influence output performance. On this basis, the review summarises the progress in the application of T-TENGs in energy harvesting, self-powered sensing, and human-machine interaction. Furthermore, it discusses challenges, including balancing output performance, wearability, durability, and washability, as well as system integration. Finally, it offers an outlook on future directions, including integration, smart functionality, and scalable fabrication, aiming to serve as a reference for the structural design and application development of high-performance wearable T-TENGs.