Elastic Liquid Metal Foam for Self‐Powered Triboelectric Sensing and Intelligent Tactile Recognition

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), developing flexible self‐powered electronic skins with high sensitivity and mechanical robustness has become a critical research priority. However, traditional metal‐polymer composites often face challenges such as mechanical mismatch and complex molding processes. To address these issues, we report an innovative elastic liquid‐metal‐silicone‐based foam (LMSF) for self‐powered triboelectric sensing and intelligent tactile recognition. A facile and environmentally friendly sugar‐template strategy was adopted to fabricate the LMSF with a 3D interconnected porous architecture that effectively encapsulates liquid metal networks within polymer matrices. This structure significantly amplifies the effective specific surface area and electron‐trapping capability while resolving long‐standing LM leakage and molding difficulties. The LMSF‐based triboelectric nanogenerator (LMSF‐TENG) delivers an outstanding electrical output, achieving an open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) of 48.48 V, a short‐circuit current ( I SC ) of 0.36 µA, and a transferred charge ( Q SC ) of 15.72 nC in single‐electrode mode. In non‐contact mode, it maintains superior performance with the V OC of 38.81 V, the I SC of 0.29 µA, and the Q SC of 13.51 nC. Furthermore, the device demonstrates exceptional long‐term reliability for over 24,000 continuous cycles. Assisted by the ResNet‐34 deep learning algorithm, the sensing array achieves high‐accuracy recognition of complex tactile patterns with a precision of 95.83%. This work provides a low‐cost, multifunctional platform for next‐generation intelligent robotic skins, self‐powered human–machine interfaces, and flexible microelectronic systems.