The performance degradation and even damage of the e-textiles caused by sweat, water, or submersion during all-weather health monitoring are the main reasons that e-textiles have not been commercialized and routinized so far. Herein, we developed an amphibious, high-performance, air-permeable, and comfortable all-textile triboelectric sensor for continuous and precise measurement of epidermal pulse waves during full-day activities. Based on the principle of preparing gas by acid-base neutralization reaction, a one-piece preparation process of amphibious conductive yarn (ACY) with densely porous structures is proposed. An innovative three-dimensional (3D) interlocking fabric knitted from ACYs (0.6 mm in diameter) and polytetrafluoroethylene yarns exhibit high sensitivity (0.433 V·kPa⁻¹), wide bandwidth (up to 10 Hz), and stability (> 30,000 cycles). With these benefits, 98.8% agreement was achieved between wrist pulse waves acquired by the sensor and a high-precision laser vibrometer. Furthermore, the polytetrafluoroethylene yarn with good compression resilience provides sufficient mechanical support for the contact separation of the ACYs. Meanwhile, the unique skeletonized design of the 3D interlocking structure can effectively relieve the water pressure on the sensor surface to obtain stable and accurate pulse waves (underwater depth of 5 cm). This achievement represents an important step in improving the practicality of e-textiles and early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.

Triboelectric interfaces have already been extensively researched in the area of human–machine interaction owing to their self-sustainability, low cost, easy manufacturing, and diverse configurations. However, some limitations (e.g., a large number of electrodes, multiple lines, and chunks) observed in previous works hinder the further development of human–machine interaction applications. Herein, a triboelectric encoding interface is proposed by designing the reverse polarity of the tribo-layers to encode the triboelectric output signals. Owing to the inversion of the tribo-layers and the number of strip electrodes, this encoding method can realize multipurpose interactive commands by using fewer electrodes and a simple structure only in one macroscopic triboelectric device, which greatly reduces the size of the device as well as the influence of external factors on the coded signal output. As a demonstration, a ring with the patterned triboelectric interface (15 mm × 20 mm) achieves slide presentation and remote electric device control. In addition, the triboelectric sensor has good sensitivity (1.55 V/N) and durability (> 30,000 cycles). This new encoding mode shows the high applicability of the operation mode in diversified interactive applications, which provides more design strategies for intelligent control.

Flexible high-frequency vibration sensors are highly desirable in various real-world applications such as structural health monitoring, environmental monitoring, and the internet of things. However, developing a facile and effective method to fabricate vibration sensors simultaneously featuring high vibration frequency response-ability and flexibility remains a grand challenge. Herein, we report a flexible ultrahigh-frequency triboelectric vibration sensor (UTVS) prepared by a layer-particle-layer structure. Owing to the flexibility of the materials (i.e., polyethylene terephthalate membrane) and the ultrahigh-frequency vibration response-ability of internal microparticles, the flexible UTVS exhibits an enhanced working frequency range of 3–170 kHz, which is much broader than previously reported triboelectric vibration sensors. Moreover, the UTVS can work not only in a flat state but also in a bent state due to its flexibility and the unique layer-particle-layer structural design. The UTVS shows nanometer-level vibration response-ability, omnidirectional response, stability in the temperature range of 10–70 °C, good frequency resolution of 0.01 kHz, and excellent performance in burst vibration detection (e.g., pencil lead break events and impact events from falling steel balls). With a collection of compelling features, the device is successfully demonstrated in vibration monitoring of curved structures (e.g., real-time water pipeline leak monitoring). Such a flexible ultrahigh-frequency triboelectric vibration sensor holds great potential in a wide range of practical applications, such as communication, health care, and infrastructure monitoring.