The development of portable and wearable electronics requiring only few tens of microwatts to operate fosters the search for low power energy sources. Moreover, the fast-growing demand for new sustainable energy has raised the interest in energy harvesters able to convert mechanical energy into electrical power. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can provide such green power supply. Recent developments in TENGs technology show that they can be used in different applications ranging from wearable self-powered sensors to wind and sea wave energy harvesting. In spite of the wide number of TENGs developed so far, an in depth understanding of their working principle is still missing. In this work, we highlight the fundamental role played by the interface between the triboelectric material and the electrode collector in contributing to the TENG's power generation. We show that by simply replacing the 'standard' gold electrodes with flexible few layer graphene electrodes in TENGs operating in vertical contact mode, a 26-fold increase in power density is achieved. Here, we elucidate the main mechanism at the base of such boost in power output, describing guidelines for the combination of electrode and triboelectric materials to optimize the mechanical energy conversion efficiency in TENGs.
Adamantane plasma polymers: fluorine-free vacuum-processable triboelectric thin films for all-triboelectric nanogenerator configurations
Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Laboratory, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Materials Science Institute of Seville (CSIC-University of Seville)（表面与等离子体纳米技术实验室，西班牙国家研究委员会，塞维利亚材料科学研究所）；Departamento de Física Aplicada I, Universidad de Sevilla（塞维利亚大学应用物理系I）；Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)（马德里材料科学研究所，西班牙国家研究委员会）；Tribología y Protección de Superficies, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Institute of Materials Science of Seville (CSIC-US)（摩擦学与表面保护，西班牙国家研究委员会，塞维利亚材料科学研究所）；Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Universidad de Sevilla（塞维利亚大学国家加速器中心）；Institute of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Riga Technical University（里加理工大学自然科学与技术学院物理与材料科学研究所）
As the use of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) increases, the generation of related electronic waste has been a major challenge. Therefore, the development of environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and low-cost TENGs must be prioritized. Having discovered that plant proteins, by-products of grain processing, possess excellent triboelectric properties, we explore these properties by evaluating the protein structure. The proteins are recycled to fabricate triboelectric layers, and the triboelectric series according to electrical properties is determined for the first time. Using a special …
We introduce herein the advanced application of low pressure plasma procedures for the development of piezo and triboelectric mode I hybrid nanogenerators. Thus, plasma assisted deposition and functionalization methods are presented as key enabling technologies for the nanoscale design of ZnO polycrystalline shells, the formation of conducting metallic cores in core@shell nanowires, and for the solventless surface modification of polymeric coatings and matrixes. We show how the perfluorinated chains grafting of PDMS provides a reliable approach to increase the hydrophobicity and surface charge…
Harvesting all sources of available clean energy is an essential strategy to contribute to healing current dependence on non-sustainable energy sources. Recently, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have gained visibility as new mechanical energy harvester offering a valid alternative to batteries, being particularly suitable for portable devices. Here, the increased capacitance of a few-layer graphene-based electrode is obtained by incorporating nitrogen-doped graphene (N_graphene), enabling a 3_fold enhancement in TENGs power output. The dependence of TENGs performance on the electronic pro…
Boosting output performance of contact-separation mode triboelectric nanogenerators by adopting discontinuity and fringing effect: experiment and modelling studies
Physics-governed executable modelling of triboelectric nanogenerators
Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University（清华大学深圳国际研究生院）；Beijing Institute of Technology（北京理工大学）；Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院北京纳米能源与系统研究所）；Marine Engineering College, Dalian Maritime University（大连海事大学航海工程学院）；University of California at Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）
Water-resistant hybrid perovskite solar cell -- drop triboelectric energy harvester
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Materials Science Institute of Seville (CSIC-US)（西班牙国家研究委员会，塞维利亚材料科学研究所）；Universidad de Sevilla（塞维利亚大学）；Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (IMSE-CNM), Universidad de Sevilla – CSIC（塞维利亚微电子研究所，塞维利亚大学-西班牙国家研究委员会）
Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been shown to be efficient in energy harvesting. Here, we report utilization of waste heat to generate electricity via combined piezoelectric and triboelectric property of 2D Cobalt Telluride (CoTe2). The piezo-triboelectric nanogenerator (PTNG) produced an open-circuit voltage of ~5V under 1N force and the effect of temperature in the 305-363 K range shows a four-fold energy conversion efficiency improvement. The 2D piezo-tribogenerator shows excellent characteristics with a maximum voltage of ~10V, fast response time and high responsivity. Density function…
The 3D printing technology offers an innovative approach for developing energy storage devices to create facile and low-cost customized electrodes for modern electronics. Generating electric potential by moving a droplet of ionic solution over two-dimensional (2D) materials is a novel method for rain energy harvesting. This work demonstrated a liquid-solid contact electrification-based 3D printed nanogenerator where raindrop passes through the positively charged ultrathin Gadolinium Telluride (Gd2Te3) sheets. Experimental results showed that voltage as high as ~0.6 V could be generated by movi…
Triboelectrification of a dense metal-organic framework for resilient mechanical energy harvesters
Multifunctional Materials & Composites (MMC) Laboratory, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, United Kingdom（牛津大学工程科学系多功能材料与复合材料实验室）
