Triboelectric nanogenerators (2012–2024): mapping progress in materials, applications, and global collaboration

Although research on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) has evolved rapidly, comprehensive data-driven studies remain limited. This study addresses this gap by conducting a scientometric analysis integrated with unsupervised topic modeling. Utilizing 8556 Scopus documents (1999–2024), we present a quantitative overview of the TENG research field. The analysis revealed exponential growth in publications, particularly after 2018. The TENG research landscape has been geographically led by China, the U.S.A. and South Korea, featuring a collaborative network centered on influential authors such as Wang, Z.L. and characterized by a highly modular author collaboration structure with comparatively weaker cross-cluster integration at the researcher level. Separate co-occurrence network analyses of commonly used materials and application terms confirmed that TENG studies primarily emphasize energy harvesting and self-powered sensors, with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) emerging as the most dominant material. Unsupervised topic modeling further identified six core thematic structures, including wearable electronics, sensing technologies, low-power energy harvesting, output enhancement, material innovation, and large-scale power generation. The findings of this study indicate a clear shift in research emphasis from low-power devices to large-scale energy production applications. Furthermore, the growing interest in biomedical applications and data-driven signal processing highlights important directions for future TENG development and deployment.