(Invited) Biomimetic Approaches for the Practical Utilization of Discrete Liquid-Solid Contact Electrification

Abstract

The concept of “discrete liquid-solid contact electrification”, which is result of sequential process of the liquid contact on the solid surface and successive detachment of contact liquid from the solid surface, was reported. After the first report on discrete liquid-solid contact electrification inside the conventional pipet tip surface, the phenomenon is deeply investigated and explored with the help of utilization on a hydrophobic surfaces, which enables easy detachment of liquid from its surface. As a result, the phenomenon can be intentionally enhanced. Recently, discrete liquid-solid contact electrification has been utilized as a fundamental operation mechanism of the energy harvester, called triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which utilizes the contact electrification phenomenon with electrical induction to efficiently convert ambient mechanical energy to electrical energy. In this presentation, the history from the discovery of discrete liquid-solid contact electrification to its application as a TENG is introduced. Especially, the biomimetic approaches (mimicking natural lotus leaf and moth's eye) in the fabrication the TENG are introduced not only to enhance the electrical output as an energy harvester, but also to give an additional function for practical utilization. The present study would broaden the applications of discrete liquid-solid contact electrification, which is ubiquitous but previously inconspicuous in our daily life.