Multifunctional Conductive Copper Tape-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator and as a Self-Powered Humidity Sensor

Abstract

In recent years, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been increasingly attracting attention owing to the ability for converting multiple mechanical energy into electricity. In this paper, we first propose a multifunctional conductive copper tape-based TENG (CCT-TENG) that is constructed completely using one piece of conductive copper tape. The triboelectric pairs, supporting structure, and conductive electrode were composed using bottom paper, silicone oil, and copper foil, all of which came from one roll of conductive copper tape. The approximate output power density of the CCT-TENG reached <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$240.1~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> /cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> . By spraying the aqueous solution of LiCl onto the surface of the bottom paper, a CCT-TENG incorporating LiCl was fabricated and used as a self-powered active sensor to detect the relative humidity (RH) of the environment. The obtained results revealed that the humidity sensor had good humidity response, response linearity, and reversibility. In addition, the RH was reflected by the brightness of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that was driven by the humidity sensor. This paper realizes a promising, affordable, and portable integration of power supply systems and sensing systems, which can promote the application of TENG in the field of electronic detection device and environment monitoring.