Organic Semiconductor Composited Self‐Lubricating Coating for In Situ Self‐Sensing Tribovoltaic Sliding Bearings

ABSTRACT As an emerging electromechanical energy conversion mechanism, the tribovoltaic effect provides a promising solution for in situ state sensing and intelligent monitoring in smart sliding bearings. However, current research still exhibits certain limitations in terms of self‐lubrication and high load‐bearing performance. In this work, a resin matrix composited with organic semiconductor poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) is used to fabricate a PEDOT: PSS‐resin self‐lubricating coating (PRSC). An organic semiconductor tribovoltaic nanogenerator (OS‐TVNG) based on PRSC with 3 wt.% PEDOT: PSS doping withstands compressive stresses exceeding 200 MPa and maintains a stable coefficient of friction (COF) of 0.07 after 20 000 sliding cycles. It also delivers a current of 2.2 µA and a voltage of 0.27 V, with no noticeable degradation over continuous operation. Furthermore, a tribovoltaic smart sliding bearing (TSSB) enabling in situ self‐sensing is developed, exhibiting excellent reproducibility and stability. Additionally, it enables bearing state identification with a high recognition accuracy by combining principal component analysis (PCA) and a support vector machine (SVM). This study presents a lubricating coating that exhibits both excellent wear resistance and tribovoltaic self‐sensing, highlighting the immense potential of in situ self‐sensing solid lubricating bearings in advancing the industrial Internet of Things (iIoT) and intelligent manufacturing.