Revamping Triboelectric Output by Deep Trap Construction.

Abstract

High output performance is critical for building triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for future multifunctional applications. Unfortunately, the high triboelectric charge dissipation rate has a significant negativeimpact on its electrical output performance. Herein, a newtribolayer is designed through introducing self-assembled molecules with large energy gaps on commercial PET fibric toform carrier deep traps, which improve charge retention while decreasing dissipation rates. The deep trap density of the PET increases by two orders of magnitude, resulting in an 86% reduction in the rate of charge dissipation and a significant increase in the charge density that can be accumulated on tribolayer during physical contact. The key explanation is that increasing the density of deep traps improves the dielectric's ability to store charges, making it more difficult for the triboelectric charges trapped by the tribolayer to escape from the deep traps, lowering the rate of charge dissipation. This TENG has a 1300% increase in output power density as a result of altering the deep trap density, demonstrating a significant improvement. This work describes a simple yetefficient method for building TENGs withultra-high electrical output and promotes their practical implementation in the sphere of the Internet of Things.