A stretchable, harsh condition-resistant and ambient-stable hydrogel and its applications in triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

During practical applications, energy harvesting devices such as TENGs always face complex harsh environment such as acidic, alkaline, and saline conditions. Even if the whole device (at least the electrode of the device) was protected by encapsulated approach, an inevitable contact between the electrode and the external harsh environment by the possible slight leakage would still cause seriously damage to the electrode materials. Consequently, it's of great significance to develop durable TENG materials that could be anticorrosive and harsh environmental resistant under a wide range of extreme conditions. In this work, a chemically robust and ultra-durable hydrogel (Cyc-hydrogel) was prepared by a self-polymerization reaction under room temperature. When we use the Cyc-hydrogel as the electrode of TENGs pretreated by extremely harsh conditions such as strong acidic, alkaline, and high concentration of saline solutions, respectively, the corresponding TENG's output performances could be kept relatively stable. Furthermore, even pretreated by simulated seawater which contained a high salinity, the resultant Cyc-hydrogel can still ensure a relatively stable electrical output performance when serving as the electrode of the TENGs. Our as-prepared hydrogel suggested great potentials for TENGs’ electrode material because of the inevitable slight leakage of the encapsulation device. • A chemically robust and ultra-durable hydrogel was prepared. • The TENG's output performances could be kept unaffected after the Cyc-hydrogel underwent strong acidic, alkaline, and saline solutions treatments. • The TENG's output performances could be kept stable after the Cyc-hydrogel underwent simulated seawater treatment.