A multifunctional and highly flexible triboelectric nanogenerator based on MXene-enabled porous film integrated with laser-induced graphene electrode

Abstract

The ambient dissipated energy such as the vast scale of mechanical energy in the agricultural system (e.g., leaf swing energy) and the writing motion existing extensively in our daily life are underutilized. Herein, to address these issues and overcome the limitations of conventional batteries, we fabricated a highly flexible and effective triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based on MXene and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite (PDMS/MXene) film and laser-induced graphene (LIG) electrode. The introduction of conductive and electronegative MXene into PDMS to fabricate porous film, not only enhances the electrical conductivity but also increases the triboelectronegativity. As a result, the output performance is significantly improved, 7-fold greater than the pure flat PDMS-based TENG. The developed TENG with excellent performance, considerable adhesion, and outstanding flexibility was successfully applied for harvesting leaf swing energy and being used as a writing board to collect writing energy. Furthermore, we developed a MXene-based TENG array acting as a self-powered sensor for handwriting recognition. In this regard, MXene-enabled TENG possesses a great promising in harvesting mechanical energy from the agricultural field (e.g., leaf swing energy) and human activities (e.g., writing), moreover, it can further be applied in writing or tactile sensing for pad, robotics, and man-machine interaction field.