Low-grade waste heat and water vapor from thermal power plants represent major energy losses. However, existing solutions still face utilization barriers due to the complexity of traditional technologies and the cost constraints of emerging technologies, coupled with the interfacial barrier caused by the Leidenfrost effect. Here, we propose a self-propelled generator based on metastable Leidenfrost effect to synergistically harvest these underutilized energy resources. By engineering a dynamic solid-liquid-gas triple-phase interface, we overcome the Leidenfrost-induced interfacial resistance and couple dynamic asymmetric electric double-layer power generation with an aqueous primary battery reaction. A single 30 mu L droplet can generate over 100 pulsed DC signals, with a peak voltage of 1.552 V and a peak current density of 21.8 A m-2. Integrated with a bionic vapor collector, a water-recirculating energy conversion loop was established to extend traditional thermal power plants. This work demonstrates an in situ strategy for distributed low-grade thermal recovery and multi-resource utilization.

Electrical stimulation is a powerful strategy for promoting tissue self-healing, yet conventional systems are limited by reliance on external power sources, rigid components, and low conformability to dynamic tissue surfaces. Here, we report a tissue-fluid-driven, self-powered, fully bioresorbable symbiotic electronic textile (SBST) that integrates controllable electrical stimulation into a thin, breathable, and fully degradable textile while preserving essential wound-care functionality. By incorporating Magnesium (Mg)/Molybdenum (Mo) nanoelectrodes with an MXene ion-transport layer (80 ± 2.3 μm thick, 70 ± 3.1 mg), SBST avoids direct electrochemical contact with tissue and provides stable electrical output. In vivo studies demonstrate that SBST significantly enhances Achilles tendon regeneration in rats, accelerates skin wound healing, and exhibits effective antibacterial activity in mice and diabetic pigs. Its textile-compatible, lead-free design highlights SBST as a promising platform for next-generation, clinically translatable electrical stimulation therapies.

Inspired by human skin, electronic skin (e-skin) integrates multidisciplinary technologies from materials engineering to microelectronics. It aims to replicate the skin's ability to perceive pressure, temperature, and humidity while also exhibiting excellent biocompatibility. As an emerging technology, e-skin holds significant promise across diverse fields, including industry, medicine, the military, and robotics. This review summarizes recent progress in the structural design of e-skin, which is a pivotal factor enabling breakthroughs in its functionality and performance. The e-skin structural design strategies are classified into three categories: skin-like perception regulation and performance enhancement, conformal interface stabilization design, and beyond-skin functionality design. These strategies facilitate skin-like multimodal sensing, stable human-machine interfaces, and capabilities exceeding those of biological skin, respectively. Current challenges and future prospects for e-skin development are also discussed.

Lifelong pacing is one of the ultimate goals of cardiac pacemakers. However, meeting the critical energy condition for lifelong service is a tremendous challenge. Here we report a symbiotic transcatheter pacemaker that regenerates electric energy from heart motion via electromagnetic induction and surpasses the critical energy condition for lifelong service. The pacemaker can be closely integrated with the body owing to favourable biocompatibility and hemocompatibility, and its small size enables interventional delivery. To minimize energy loss and eliminate mechanical collision and friction, we propose a straightforward magnetic levitation energy cache structure. The energy regeneration module has a near-zero boot threshold, high kinetic energy conversion efficiency and intracardiac root mean square output power. We show the energy regeneration and therapeutic function of the symbiotic transcatheter pacemaker over a month-long autonomous operation in a porcine model of brady-arrhythmia. These advances may provide a potential path to extend the service life of pacemakers to the level of the natural heart. A self-powered symbiotic transcatheter pacemaker that regenerates energy via electromagnetic induction from the cardiac motion demonstrates a month-long operation in a porcine model of arrhythmia and surpasses the critical energy condition for lifelong service.

Acute liver injury is closely linked to the pathophysiological cascade effect of iron dysregulation and oxidative stress caused by ferroptosis. Existing monotherapies using iron chelators or antioxidants fail to meet the need for bidirectional regulation and lack targeting and specificity. In this study, nanomedicine composed of piezoelectric materials and nanozyme (BTO@CeO2) was developed for piezo-mediated dual-mode therapy of iron homeostasis regulation and free radical scavenging under localized ultrasound excitation: piezoelectric polarization reduced CeO2’s energy barriers and enhanced its superoxide dismutase-like enzyme activity through electron injection and orbital hybridization for efficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging; BTO-generated holes reduced unstable iron pools by oxidizing divalent iron ions to achieve iron homeostasis; ultimately achieving efficient and high spatiotemporal precision in reversing ferroptosis. BTO@CeO2 achieved antioxidant and iron metabolism reprogramming by regulating ferritinophagy, successfully alleviating drug-induced acute liver injury. This work demonstrates the great potential of piezoelectric-nanozyme synergistic precision treatment of metabolic diseases.

Existing artificial tactile sensing technologies face significant challenges in addressing signal instability caused by the complex mechanical responses of soft materials. Here, a multimodal smart tactile finger based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) is developed. The smart finger system integrates a stable contact mechanism with a multimodal sensing module, enabling the synchronous acquisition of composite responses from four TENG channels and one PENG channel. For different soft materials, the TENG and PENG signals generated during the detection process are significantly different. The former is generated by the contact and separation of the TENG module and the soft materials, while the latter is generated by the elastic collision between the PENG module and the soft materials. The acquired signals are standardized and processed using a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) model to achieve accurate classification of soft material types. Testing with 23 soft materials covering broad ranges of modulus and adhesion strength demonstrates that the classification accuracy with all five channels exceeds 83%, significantly outperforming results from any single sensor channel. This smart tactile finger offers promising technological prospects for advanced human-machine interaction, bioinspired robotics, and medical tactile systems.

Despite being a serious health condition that significantly increases cardiovascular and metabolic disease risks, sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) remains largely underdiagnosed. While polysomnography (PSG) remains the gold standard for diagnosis, its clinical application is limited by high costs, complex setup requirements, and sleep quality interference. Although wearable devices using photoplethysmography (PPG) have shown promise in SAS detection, their continuous operation demands substantial power consumption, hindering long-term monitoring capabilities. Here, a dual-modal wearable system is presented integrating a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) and PPG sensor with a biomimetic fingertip structure for SAS detection. A two-stage detection strategy is adopted where the self-powered PENG performs continuous preliminary screening, activating the PPG sensor only when suspicious events are detected. Combined with a Vision Transformer-based deep learning model, the high-accuracy configuration achieves 99.59% accuracy, while the low-power two-stage approach maintained 94.95% accuracy. This dual-modal wearable pulse detection system provides a practical solution for long-term SAS monitoring, overcoming the limitations of traditional PSG while maintaining high detection accuracy. The system's versatility in both home and clinical settings offers the potential for improving early detection rates and treatment outcomes for SAS patients.

Personalized cardiovascular monitoring plays an critical role in early detection and management of cardiovascular diseases. However, current noninvasive monitoring methods face challenges of unstable sensor-skin interfaces, physiological and anatomical differences, and difficulty in balancing accuracy and comfort. Here, inspired by octopus suckers' mechanics, we present a biomimetic epidermal sensing sucker (BESS) that integrates conformal physiological sensing with in situ pressure modulation. The stable attachment to the arterial site is achieved through negative-pressure adsorption, while the amplitude of the pulse signal is enhanced for optimal detection via adaptive pressure modulation, effectively addressing interindividual variability. Drawing on Traditional Chinese Medicine pulse palpation, BESS applies incremental vertical pressure to induce stress excitation in local arterial vessels, capturing pulse oscillation waves and quantifying traditional pulse diagnostic information. Leveraging the enriched pulse features acquired by BESS, a cuffless blood pressure (BP) estimation system is developed by integrating classical oscillometry with pulse wave feature analysis through machine learning, achieving high accuracy (1.36 +/- 3.81 mmHg for systolic BP and 1.15 +/- 2.94 mmHg for diastolic BP) without occluding arterial blood flow. The interdisciplinary integration of biomimetics and intelligent sensing technology provides a promising pathway for personalized cardiovascular monitoring with balanced accuracy, comfort, and interpretability.

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a highly efficient and environmentally friendly energy harvesting technology that has been widely used as a green self-powered energy supply device. However, the majority of current triboelectric materials rely on non-degradable polymers, which pose environmental issues. Natural materials offer advantages such as low cost and environmental friendliness, making them ideal candidates for the fabrication of green TENG. Considering the underutilization and significant waste of traditional Chinese herbs (TCH) resources, we design a traditional Chinese herbs-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TCH-TENG) and systematically investigates the triboelectric series of 20 kinds of TCHs. Among them, cinnabar exhibited the highest triboelectric performance, with an peak open-circuit Voltage (Voc) reaching 4.4 V and a peak short-circuit current (Isc) of 399 nA. TCH-TENG serves as a power source, successfully driving a set of commercial lights arrays and also achieving electrical stimulation of mice to induce gastrocnemius muscle contraction. This study combines the natural properties of herbs with TENG technology to propose a low-cost energy harvesting system, offering a novel solution for self-powered technologies in green energy.

Respiratory muscle training can improve respiratory function by strengthening muscle mass, which is of great help to populations with respiratory system diseases and athletes. Existing respiratory muscle training methods rely on resistance that hinders breathing, and the resistance cannot be adjusted automatically. However, the detection of the user's current muscle fatigue state and precise adjustment of resistance during respiratory muscle training are crucial to training efficiency. Here, we have developed a hybrid sensor that combines a triboelectric nanogenerator and a piezoelectric nanogenerator. This hybrid sensor can simultaneously collect both high‐frequency and low‐frequency signals generated by the Karman vortex street effect with low hysteresis. When the airway height is 30 mm, the sensor size is 52 μm × 40 mm × 17 mm, the output performance of the sensor is optimal, and the minimum response amplitude for the sensor is approximately 3 mm. Under normal breathing conditions, the output peak voltage is 7 V, the current is 100 μA, the charge transfer amount generated by one movement is 55 nC, the response time is 0.16 s, and the sensitivity is 0.07 V/m·s −1 . With the help of the principal component analysis algorithm, features related to the fatigue state of muscles were extracted from the collected signals, and the accuracy rate can reach 94.4%. Subsequently, the stepper motor will rotate to adjust the resistance appropriately. We fused the hybrid sensor, machine learning, control circuits, and stepper motors and fabricated a resistance self‐adaptation program. Our findings inspire researchers in the field of rehabilitation and sports training to evaluate training status and improve training efficiency. image

Continuous pulse wave detection can be used for monitoring and diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, and research on pulse sensing based on piezoelectric thin films is one of the hot spots. Usually, piezoelectric thin films do not come into direct contact with the skin and need to be connected through a layer of an elastic medium. Most views think that the main function of this layer of elastic medium is to increase the adhesion between the sensor component and the skin, but there is little discussion about the impact of the elastic medium on pulse vibration transmission. Here, we conducted a detailed study on the effects of Young's modulus and the thickness of elastic media on pulse sensing signals. The results show that the waveform amplitude of the piezoelectric sensing signal decreases with the increase of Young's modulus and thickness of the elastic medium. Then, we constructed a theoretical model of the influence of elastic media on pulse wave propagation. The amplitude of the pulse wave signal detected by the optimized sensor was increased to 480%. Our research shows that by regulating Young's modulus and thickness of elastic media, pulse wave signals can undergo a similar amplification effect, which has an important theoretical reference value for achieving ambulatory blood pressure monitoring based on high-quality pulse waves.

Muscles, the fundamental components supporting all human movement, exhibit various signals upon contraction, including mechanical signals indicating tremors or mechanical deformation and electrical signals responsive to muscle fiber activation. For noninvasive wearable devices, these signals can be measured using surface electromyography (sEMG) and force myography (FMG) techniques, respectively. However, relying on a single source of information is insufficient for a comprehensive evaluation of muscle condition. In order to accurately and effectively evaluate the various states of muscles, it is necessary to integrate sEMG and FMG in a spatiotemporally synchronized manner. This study presents a flexible sensor for multimodal muscle state monitoring, integrating serpentine-structured sEMG electrodes with fingerprint-like FMG sensors into a patch approximately 250 mu m thick. This design achieves a multimodal assessment of muscle conditions while maintaining a compact form factor. A thermo-responsive adhesive hydrogel is incorporated to enhance skin adhesion, improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the sEMG signals (33.07 dB) and ensuring the stability of the FMG sensor during mechanical deformation and tremors. The patterned coupled sensing patch demonstrates its utility in tracking muscular strength, assessing fatigue levels, and discerning features of muscle dysfunction by analyzing the time-domain and frequency-domain characteristics of the mechanical-electrical coupled signals, highlighting its potential application in sports training and rehabilitation monitoring.image A novel patterned mechanical-electrical coupled sensing patch is designed for the simultaneous temporal and spatial acquisition of electrical and mechanical signals in muscle activities, which provides an effective tool for comprehensive multimodal muscle function assessment (muscle strength, fatigue level, and muscle dysfunction) through the complementary time and frequency domain characteristics. image

Wearable electronics with multi-functionalities are widely utilized in various domains, including everyday living, healthcare, military training, and sports. Advances in flexible electronic technology, new materials, artificial intelligence technology, and sensor technology have accelerated the rapid development of smart wearable devices toward multifunctional and highly integrated trends. The energy supply technology based on the human-body energy harvesting method endows wearable, multifunctional electronic devices with sustainable, renewable, and self-powered characteristics, which proposes a solution strategy for the function expansion and energy supply of wearable devices. Herein, this paper discusses recent research on various methods of harvesting human body energy and wearing parts respectively, focusing on the new materials, structures, and processes involved in the representative studies, as well as the impact on energy harvesting and output, and functional applications. Furthermore, the challenges and obstacles faced in the creation of wearable multifunctional devices based on human self-sufficiency and propose solution strategies to propel them in order to advance the creation of the next wave of intelligent wearable technology are also discussed. Wearable multifunctional devices (WMDs) based on human-body energy harvesting are emerging quickly. This paper reviews different ways and mechanisms of energy harvesting based on the human body, and summarizes the different wearing forms and representative works. Finally, the existing challenges, possible improvements, and future directions of WMDs are discussed in depth. image

Acute postoperative pain is commonly treated with flurbiprofen (FBP), but conventional delivery methods are suboptimal. This study prepared a new non-burst release microneedles (MNs) using genipin cross-linked gelatin (cGel). By adding varying amounts of genipin to modulate the crosslinking degree of cGel, the drug release behavior of the drug-loaded MNs in the skin can be altered. The crosslinking parameters that meet therapeutic requirements are selected, thus providing rapid and long-lasting analgesic effects. cGel solutions were successfully cross-linked, altering matrix material microstructure, confirmed by scanning electron microscope imaging and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. MNs demonstrated increasing mechanical strength with higher crosslinking. Drug release rates were rapid initially, then slowed, exhibiting a characteristic of decreased release rates with increasing degrees of crosslinking. In vivo, FBP/cGel MNs significantly reduced allodynia and hyperalgesia post-surgery, with the greatest effect observed at 2–3 h post-surgery, and can maintain analgesia for up to 6 h. Biosafety tests confirmed good biocompatibility. FBP/cGel MNs effectively penetrate the stratum corneum, safely delivering drugs with significant analgesic effects, excellent mechanical properties, and good biocompatibility, representing a promising strategy for managing acute postoperative pain.

As an emerging environmentally friendly energy conversion device, degradable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) play an important role in self-powered sensing, health care and human-machine interaction. However, traditional degradable materials used in TENGs often suffer from limited material sources and complex preparation processes, restricting large-scale production for widespread applications. Here, we propose a simple and efficient way to prepare degradable TENGs with inactivated bacterial film, taking advantage of wide source, selfproliferation and easy culture properties of bacteria. The prepared bacterial film-based TENG (BF-TENG) has stable electrical output, good durability and fatigue resistance, along with superior capabilities in both contact and non-contact sensing. In contact mode, the BF-TENG can generate a peak voltage of up to 83.3 V, which is employed for accurate Morse code transmission. In non-contact mode, the BF-TENG is capable of effectively perceiving the target polymer at a distance of 150 cm. The non-contact LED control circuit and a sensing array based on BF-TENG further demonstrate its practical potential for gesture recognition and spatial position perception. Furthermore, the fully degradable nature of BF-TENG ensures effortless disposal after use without environmental impact, serving as a promising solution for the new generation of eco-friendly and sustainable sensing devices.

Powerful tactile perception is keystone for robots to achieve human-like dexterous manipulation. However, endowing robots with tactile perception capabilities that approach or even surpass those of humans is a challenge. Organisms can perceive complex environments rapidly, and almost all perception is related to the directional transport of ions. Inspired by this mechanism, we design a flexible dual-responsive skin (FDRS) based on ions migration for proximity and tactile somatosensation, which is consisting of single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator and iontronic sensor, achieving surpassing-skin capabilities. The single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator can encode the proximity information of approaching targets into a series of voltage pulses with fast response time (100 mu s). The iontronic tactile unit based on the hierarchical micro-hemispherical gel layer achieves high linearity (R-2 = 0.998) over a broad range of 0-700 kPa. We demonstrate the applications of FDRS for three-dimensional object recognition and robotic control. These capabilities of the multilayer integrated FDRS provide new perspectives for the future development of human-like dexterous robotic manipulation.

Ionically conductive fibers have promising applications; however, complex processing techniques and poor stability limit their practicality. To overcome these challenges, we proposed a stress-induced adaptive phase transition strategy to conveniently fabricate self-encapsulated hydrogel-based ionically conductive fibers (se-HICFs). se-HICFs can be produced simply by directly stretching ionic hydrogels with ultra-stretchable networks (us-IHs) or by dip-drawing from molten us-IHs. During this process, stress facilitated the directional migration and evaporation of water molecules in us-IHs, causing a phase transition in the surface layer of ionic fibers to achieve self-encapsulation. The resulting sheath-core structure of se-HICFs enhanced mechanical strength and stability while endowing se-HICFs with powerful non-contact electrostatic induction capabilities. Mimicking nature, se-HICFs were woven into spider web structures and camouflaged in wild environments to achieve high spatiotemporal resolution 3D depth-of-field sensing for different moving media. This work opens up a convenient route to fabricate stable functionalized ionic fibers.

Electrical stimulation can effectively accelerate bone healing. However, the substantial size and weight of electrical stimulation devices result in reduced patient benefits and compliance. It remains a challenge to establish a flexible and lightweight implantable microelectronic stimulator for bone regeneration. Here, we use self-powered technology to develop an electric pulse stimulator without circuits and batteries, which removes the problems of weight, volume, and necessary rigid packaging. The fully implantable bone defect electrical stimulation (BD-ES) system combines a hybrid tribo/piezoelectric nanogenerator to provide biphasic electric pulses in response to rehabilitation exercise with a conductive bioactive hydrogel. BD-ES can enhance multiple osteogenesis-related biological processes, including calcium ion import and osteogenic differentiation. In a rat model of critical-sized femoral defects, the bone defect was reversed by electrical stimulation therapy with BD-ES and subsequent bone mineralization, and the femur completely healed within 6 weeks. This work is expected to advance the development of symbiotic electrical stimulation therapy devices without batteries and circuits.

Flexible pressure sensors are valuable in applications such as electronic skin, smart robots, artificial prosthetics, and wearable electronics. In this study, a fully packaged, flexible, self-powered, long-term stable sensor array based on piezoelectrets is developed for pressure monitoring. A pressure sensor with a microcavity structure and a thickness of 500 mu m achieved an impressive piezoelectric coefficient of 23.8 pC N-1 and a fast response time of 93 ms. The sensor yielded an output voltage of 0.26 V when subjected to a force using 0.3 g soybeans, and it displayed a remarkable linear relationship (R2 = 0.992) between force and electricity with pressure ranging from 1.4 to 13.6 N and a sensitivity of 9 mV N-1. Real-time monitoring of sound vibration, radial artery pulse, and finger movement is demonstrated along with the successful recording of dynamic pressure changes within the porcine knee joint. It holds potential for fields such as monitoring pressure changes in the movement of human bodies and robotics and can contribute significantly to pressure assessment during total knee replacement. This work designs a self-powered flexible sensor array based on the microcavity structure for dynamic pressure monitoring. The sensor exhibits fast response and high sensitivity. It holds potential for fields such as monitoring pressure changes in the movement of human bodies and can contribute significantly to pressure assessment during total knee replacement. image