A research team in Korea has developed an adhesive film that generates electricity by being attached and detached. This technology is expected to be applicable in various fields, including anti-theft devices and industrial safety systems.
A team of professors led by Jeong Hoon of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) announced on the 22nd that they have newly developed a triboelectric generating film that can simultaneously control adhesion and electrical output.
Triboelectric generation is the principle by which electricity is generated when two substances come into contact and then separate, causing charge movement. The research team applied this principle to an adhesive film, enabling it to produce electrical signals with just the act of attaching and detaching, without any additional power source.
This film features a 'D'-shaped incision pattern that makes its adhesion more than 35 times stronger and its electrical output approximately 13 times greater than conventional films. Thanks to this, it can generate strong electrical signals with simple, short movements such as pressing and releasing by hand or having an object slightly drop.
The first author, Lee Hee-jin, noted, "The incision pattern controls the direction of crack propagation and plays a role in increasing instantaneous adhesion," adding, "In particular, we utilized the phenomenon where electrical output significantly increases when cracks pause at the consolidation and then resume in the opposite direction."
Another advantage of this film is that it can be designed to change both output and adhesion strength depending on the direction and arrangement of the incision pattern.
The research team also confirmed the practical applicability. They attached the film to a door gap, generating an electrical signal the moment the door opened, and activated a system to sound an alarm using this signal.
Additionally, they developed a system that detects peeling movements before a frame attached to a wall falls and sends a warning to a smartphone. The film is designed to only produce electrical signals when a conveyor belt turns in reverse, thus being able to stop abnormal machine operation.
Professor Jeong Hoon stated, "This technology transforms adhesive films from merely being tools that can be attached and detached into smart sensors that generate electrical signals on their own," adding, "It is suitable for simple structured detection systems as it can simultaneously perform detection and signal generation without a battery, and its application in various fields such as wearable sensors, anti-theft devices, and industrial safety systems is anticipated."
This research was conducted with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and the Ministry of Science and ICT. The results were published in the international journal "Advanced Functional Materials" on the 11th of last month.
References
Advanced Functional Materials (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202506293