Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembled Thin Films for Triboelectric Energy Harvesting under Harsh Conditions

Abstract

With the rapid growth in triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology, selecting appropriate tribomaterial (TM) with high electrical output performance and a cheap fabrication technique is vital for sustainable nanogenerator operations. Thus, we prepared an electrostatic bonded thin poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and poly(4-styrene-sulfonic acid) multilayered-based film as a potential positive TM via facile and cheap layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly fabrication technique. The high electrical output performance of the LbL-TENGs depends on the number of BL films was optimized by changing the number of bilayers (BLs) from 10 to 50. The 30 BL TENG shows a significant voltage of 189 V and a current density of 17 mA m–2 under the harsh environment of 65% RH, indicating the sustainability of the LbL-TENG device. Furthermore, the single-electrode mode of the optimized TENG exhibited an impressive TENG performance of 215 V and 79 mA m–2 and lit up 39 green light-emitting diodes just by tapping the TENG by hand.