Abstract
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) that utilize triboelectrification and electrostatic induction to convert mechanical energy to electricity have attracted increasing interest in the last 10 years. As a universal physical phenomenon, triboelectrification can occur between any two surfaces that experience physical contact and separation regardless of the type of material. For this reason, many materials, including both organic and inorganic materials, have been studied in TENGs with different purposes. Although organic polymers are mainly used as triboelectric materials in TENGs, the application of inorganic nanomaterials has also been intensively studied because of their unique dielectric, electric, piezoelectric, and optical properties, which can improve the performance of TENGs. A review of how inorganic nanomaterials are used in TENGs would help researchers gain an overview of the progress in this area. Here, we present a review to summarize how inorganic nanomaterials are utilized in TENGs based on the roles, types, and characteristics of the nanomaterials.
Highlights
The invention of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) in 20121 turned the historic physical phenomenon of triboelectrification[2] into a working principle for energy conversion
Pan and coworkers[25] have reviewed the applications of TENGs for future soft robots and machines. In this Review, we skip this part of the information and focus solely on how inorganic nanomaterials are used to improve the performance of TENGs
Perspectives of future studies are given after the summary. This Review provides an overview of how inorganic nanomaterials that are used in TENGs can lead to further development in this area
Summary
The invention of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) in 20121 turned the historic physical phenomenon of triboelectrification (contact electrification)[2] into a working principle for energy conversion. With the development of TENGs, additional applications[3] to energy conversion have been discovered, including sensors,[4−8] control interfaces,[9] functional systems,[10] and biomedical applications.[11,12] The nature of triboelectrification implies that it can occur between any two materials that have physical contact and separation, as charges can transfer between the surfaces. For this reason, diverse materials have been studied for use in TENGs with different purposes, utilizing unique physical and chemical properties. This Review provides an overview of how inorganic nanomaterials that are used in TENGs can lead to further development in this area
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