Electrospun PVDF-MoSe2 nanofibers based hybrid triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered water splitting system

Abstract

The development of nanogenerators offers the best hope for the current global energy crisis rises due to social globalization. Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are currently gaining a lot of attention for harvesting mechanical energy from the ambient environment to serve as the power source for powering electronic devices. In the present work, hybrid triboelectric nanogenerator coupling both the piezoelectric and triboelectric effects have been fabricated to drive the environmentally friendly approach of splitting the water for hydrogen production. Here, electrospun PVDF-MoSe2 fiber deposited over aluminium foil, and Nylon fiber based triboelectric negative and positive material, respectively have been used for the hybrid nanogenerator device. It has been observed that MoSe2 incorporation improves the nanogenerators triboelectric as well as piezoelectric performance. The PVDF-MoSe2/Nylon based TENG exhibits remarkable peak to peak open-circuit voltage of 113.6 V and 26.5 µA of short-circuit current. Moreover, it exhibits a high-power density of 230.4 µWcm−2 under piezo-tribo coupling, which is even superior than the majority of previously fabricated similar type of devices. This TENG, which has great output performance, can also capture energy from a variety of mechanical and biological motions, and the device versatility has also been shown by its use in hydrogen evolution.