A stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator made of silver-coated glass microspheres for human motion energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications.

Hui Li,Xu He,Hui Zhao,Yaju Zhang,Weichao Wang,Yonghui Wu,Haiwu Zheng

doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.32

Abstract

Wearable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have recently attracted great interest because they can convert human biomechanical energy into sustainable electricity. However, there is a need for improvement regarding the output performance and the complex fabrication of TENG devices. Here, a triboelectric nanogenerator in single-electrode mode is fabricated by a simple strategy, which involves a sandwich structure of silicone rubber and silver-coated glass microspheres (S-TENG). The S-TENG exhibits a remarkable performance in harvesting human motion energy and as flexible tactile sensor. By optimizing the device parameters and operating conditions, the maximum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of the S-TENG can reach up to 370 V and 9.5 μA, respectively. The S-TENG with good stretchability (300%) can be produced in different shapes and placed on various parts of the body to harvest mechanical energy for charging capacitors and powering LED lights or scientific calculators. In addition, the good robustness of the S-TENG satisfies the needs of reliability for flexible tactile sensors in realizing human–machine interfaces. This work expands the potential application of S-TENGs from wearable electronics and smart sensing systems to real-time robotics control and virtual reality/augmented reality interactions.

Highlights

Traditional batteries cannot provide a durable and reliable power supply for small portable electronic devices, personalized healthcare, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices [1,2,3,4,5,6].Thanks to the progress in low-power technology, the power consumption of microelectronic devices has dropped to the level of micro- or nanowatts, which makes the use of environ-Beilstein J
We developed a single-electrode mode, stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator (S-triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs)) using a simple strategy
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image (Figure 1b) and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurement (Figure 1c) show that the silver-coated glass microspheres (SCGMs) are evenly dispersed across the silicone rubber

Summary

Introduction

Traditional batteries cannot provide a durable and reliable power supply for small portable electronic devices, personalized healthcare, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices [1,2,3,4,5,6].Thanks to the progress in low-power technology, the power consumption of microelectronic devices has dropped to the level of micro- or nanowatts, which makes the use of environ-Beilstein J. These advantages are: (a) It can be made into multiple shapes and placed on various parts of the body to harvest mechanical energy, requires only a simple fabrication process, (b) it shows stable output and long working life, which provides sustainable electricity, and (c) due to the unique structural design of the device and the high elasticity of the silicone rubber, the S-TENG can be stretched to 300% to realize a conformal assembly in stretchable electronic systems.

Results

Conclusion