<p>While the impact of ambient temperature on contact-separation triboelectric nanogenerators (CS-TENGs) has been well characterized, sliding-mode TENGs (S-TENGs) demonstrate more intricate temperature-dependent behavior. In S-TENGs, electrification is accompanied by wear, leading to an intricate interplay between tribological properties and electrification performance under different temperatures. This complexity is particularly pronounced in S-TENGs with patterned films, necessitating investigations to establish guidelines for the design of patterns. To address this, a test platform with a temperature control system was constructed and the patterned polyimide (PI) films were fabricated to investigate the effect of applied temperature on the tribological properties and electrification performance of S-TENG. The results show that the effect of applied temperature on the electrical output of S-TENG is different from that of CS-TENG. The open-circuit voltage initially increases with the increase in applied temperature at first and decreases afterward, which could be attributed to the combined effect of contact electrification and material wear. The coefficient of friction, temperature rise due to frictional heating, and mass loss of PI film increase with the enhancement of applied temperature. Moreover, the open-circuit voltage of the PI film with a pitch of 2μm increases by up to 65.9%, and mass loss reduces by up to 57.1% compared to the smooth one, which improves the electrical output and durability of S-TENG under different applied temperatures.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>