A self-powered active antibacterial system controlled by human motions

Pathogenic bacteria that give rise to diseases every year is a major health concern around the world. In recent years, tellurium-based nanomaterials have been approved as new and efficient antibacterial agents. In this research, we developed a new approach to directly grow tellurium (Te NWs) onto commercial carbon fiber fabrics and demonstrated that it remain the good antibacterial effect. In addition, we also showed that when connecting the as-prepared carbon fiber fabrics to a triboelectric nanogenerator, a self-powered antibacterial system was constructed. During the operation of triboelectric nanogenerator, the generated electricity contributed to electroporation of bacteria and electrolysis of Te NWs. These factors resulted in a combination effect and consequently kill the bacteria in an efficient way. Upon increasing the amplitude and frequency of electric output, the self-powered active antibacterial system exhibited more enhanced performance to inhibit the bacteria growth. These results indicate that the as-prepared carbon fiber fabrics and self-powered antibacterial system can be integrated with clothing products in the near future.