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Zhou et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 10 Page 39 of 47

time. This approach accelerates the evolution of wearable electronics toward a new generation of
self-powered, battery-free ecosystems with instantaneous response, intelligent connectivity, and
multifunctional sensing capabilities.

Expansion of application scenarios
With ongoing innovations in materials and device structures, MEGTs have expanded into a wide range of
real-world applications. Integration of MEGTs into clothing and shoe insoles enables self-powered health
monitoring systems driven by environmental or skin humidity. Biocompatible MEGT-based devices are
incorporated into wound dressings and electrostimulation platforms, promoting healing and facilitating
smart dressings that are biodegradable, antimicrobial, and capable of controlled drug release.
Humidity-responsive fibers are also employed in touch sensing and gesture recognition, enabling the
development of chip-free, self-powered flexible interactive interfaces. Overall, through the convergence of
materials science, textile engineering, and flexible electronics, MEGTs are emerging as a core energy
technology for next-generation self-powered wearable systems. This progress paves the way for a new era of
electronic textiles, providing seamless, continuous, and battery-free energy solutions for biomonitoring,
personalized healthcare, and intelligent wearable devices.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Wrote the original draft: Zhou, Q.
Supervised, revised and edited the manuscript: Chen, W.; Du, M.; Zhao, Z.

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 24210005-N and
21975214) and the Science Foundation of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (Grant Nos. 23212091-Y and
25212209-FZ).

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2026.

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