Triboelectric Film with Electrochemical Surface Modification for Multiple Mechanical Energy Harvesting with High Storage Efficiency and Sensing Applications

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are a key technology that can harvest mechanical energy available from the surrounding nature into electricity based on the triboelectrification and electrostatic induction mechanism. Rotational energy is one of the abundantly available renewable energy sources that can efficiently be harvested into electricity. It is also well-known that the surface area of the triboelectric film plays an important role in electric output generation. Herein, we electrochemically modified the surface of a copper film by creating microarchitecture and employed it in the fabrication of a rotational TENG (R-TENG). The fabricated R-TENG generated an electrical output of ∼180 V and ∼11 μA at 100 rotations per minute. Thereafter, the generated electrical output was efficiently stored by fabricating and combining a circuit with the R-TENG. Finally, the R-TENG was used to harvest various rotational energies, and the produced electric output was used to power portable electronics. The R-TENG combined with the circuit also functions as a wind speed sensor.