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The financial support for this work is provided by China Scholarship Council, China, under the Grant CSC (202006630011).

Analysis of institutional authors

Vázquez-López AAuthor

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April 3, 2023
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All-Fabric Triboelectric Nanogenerator (AF-TENG) Smart Face Mask: Remote Long-Rate Breathing Monitoring and Apnea Alarm

Publicated to:Acs Sensors. 8 (4): 1684-1692 - 2023-04-28 8(4), DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c02825

Authors: Vazquez-Lopez, Antonio; Saez, Jose Sanchez del Rio; de la Vega, Jimena; Ao, Xiang; Wang, De-Yi

Affiliations

Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica Automática y Física Aplicada, ETSIDI, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ronda de Valencia 3, 28012 Madrid, Spain. - Author
IMDEA Mat Inst, Madrid 28906, Spain - Author
IMDEA Materials Institute, C/Eric Kandel, 2, Getafe, 28906 Madrid, Spain. - Author
Institute for Research in Technology, ICAI School of Engineering, Pontifical Comillas University, Madrid, C/Santa Cruz de Marcenado, 26, 28015 Madrid, Spain. - Author
Materials Science and Engineering Area, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Madrid, Spain. - Author
Pontifical Comillas Univ, Inst Res Technol, ICAI Sch Engn, Madrid 28015, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Ingn Elect Elect Automat & Fis Aplicada, ETSIDI, Madrid 28012, Spain - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Escuela Super Ciencias Expt & Tecnol, Mat Sci & Engn Area, Madrid 28933, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of face masks has become not only mandatory in several countries but also an acceptable approach for combating the pandemic. In the quest for designing an effective and useful face mask, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been recently proposed. Novel functionalities are provided with the use of TENGs in face masks due to the induced triboelectrification generated by the exhaled and inhaled breath, allowing their use as an energy sensor. Nonetheless, within the face mask, the presence of nontextile plastics or other common triboelectric (TE) materials can be undesired. Herein, we propose the use of an all-fabric TENG (AF-TENG) with the use of high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and cotton fabric as negative and positive triboelectric layers, respectively. With these materials, it is possible to detect the breathing of the patient, which in the case of not detecting a signal over a few minutes can trigger an alarm locally, providing valuable time. Also, in this article, we have sent breathing signals locally and remotely to distances up to 20 km via Wi-Fi and LoRa, the same as warning signals in the case of detecting anomalies. This work reveals the use of TENGs in smart face masks as an important tool to be used in difficult epidemiological periods to the general public, bringing much more comfort and relaxation to patients and elderly in today's society, and based on pristine eco-friendly materials.

Keywords

face masklorananogeneratortengAgedApneaBreathing signalsCoronavirus disease 2019Covid-19Energy sensorsFace maskFace masksHigh molecular weight polyethylenesHumanHumansLoraMasksNanogeneratorNanogeneratorsNonmetallic matrix compositesPandemicPandemicsPolyethyleneSensorsSignal detectionTengTriboelectricTriboelectric nanogeneratorTriboelectricityTriboelectrificationUltrahigh molecular weight polyethylenes

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Acs Sensors due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 4/106, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Chemistry, Analytical. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 5.1. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 3.41 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 14.53 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 28
  • Scopus: 28
  • Europe PMC: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 18.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 22 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 10 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Vázquez López, Antonio) .