Photoinduced charge generation of nanostructured carbon derived from human hair biowaste for performance enhancement in polyvinylidene fluoride based triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

Carbon nanostructures derived from human hair biowaste are incorporated into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer to enhance the energy conversion performance of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). The PVDF filled with activated carbon nanomaterial from human hair (AC-HH) exhibits improved surface charge density and photoinduced charge generation. These remarkable properties are attributed to the presence of graphene-like nanostructures in AC-HH, contributing to the augmented performance of PVDF@AC-HH TENG. The correlation of surface morphologies, surface charge potential, charge capacitance properties, and TENG electrical output of the PVDF composites at various AC-HH loading is studied and discussed. Applications of the PVDF@AC-HH TENG as a power source for micro/nanoelectronics and a movement sensor for detecting finger gestures are also demonstrated. The photoresponse property of the fabricated TENG is demonstrated and analyzed in-depth. The analysis indicates that the photoinduced charge carriers originate from the conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO), contributing to the enhanced surface charge density of the PVDF composite film. This research introduces a novel approach to enhancing TENG performance through the utilization of carbon nanostructures derived from human biowaste. The findings of this work are crucial for the development of innovative energy-harvesting technology with multifunctionality, including power generation, motion detection, and photoresponse capabilities.