Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates Research Articles

High-Density Plasmonic Nanoparticle Arrays Deposited on Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Templates for Optical Sensor Applications.

This study demonstrates a new, robust, and accessible deposition technique of metal nanoparticle arrays (NPAs), which uses nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) as a template for capillary force-assisted convective colloid (40, 60, and 80 nm diameter Au) assembly. The NPA density and nanoparticle size can be independently tuned by the anodization conditions and colloid synthesis protocols. This enables production of non-touching variable-density NPAs with controllable gaps in the 20–60 nm range. The NPA nearest neighbor center distance in the present study was fixed to 100 nm by the choice of anodization protocol. The obtained Au NPAs have the resonant scattering maxima in the visible spectral range, with a refractometric sensitivity, which can be tuned by the variation of the array density. The thickness of the NAA layer in an Aluminum-NAA-NPA multilayer system enables further tuning of the resonance frequency and optimization for use with specific molecules, e.g., to avoid absorption bands. Applicability of the mentioned multilayers for colorimetric refractive index (RI) sensing is demonstrated. Their use as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) substrates is tested using hemoglobin as a biological probe molecule.

Electrostatic Supercapacitors by Atomic Layer Deposition on Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Templates for Environmentally Sustainable Energy Storage

In this work, the entire manufacturing process of electrostatic supercapacitors using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique combined with the employment of nanoporous anodic alumina templates as starting substrates is reported. The structure of a usual electrostatic capacitor, which comprises a top conductor electrode/the insulating dielectric layer/and bottom conductor electrode (C/D/C), has been reduced to nanoscale size by depositing layer by layer the required materials over patterned nanoporous anodic alumina membranes (NAAMs) by employing the ALD technique. A thin layer of aluminum-doped zinc oxide, with 3 nm in thickness, is used as both the top and bottom electrodes’ material. Two dielectric materials were tested; on the one hand, a triple-layer made by a successive combination of 3 nm each layers of silicon dioxide/titanium dioxide/silicon dioxide and on the other hand, a simple layer of alumina, both with 9 nm in total thickness. The electrical properties of these capacitors are studied, such as the impedance and capacitance dependences on the AC frequency regime (up to 10 MHz) or capacitance (180 nF/cm2) on the DC regime. High breakdown voltage values of 60 V along with low leakage currents (0.4 μA/cm2) are also measured from DC charge/discharge RC circuits to determine the main features of the capacitors behavior integrated in a real circuit.

Fluoride-Induced Interfacial Adhesion Loss of Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates in Aerospace Structures

Nanoporous anodic aluminum oxides (AAOs) are used as templates in various technological applications, including load-bearing aircraft structures. But in spite of their popularity, the important asp...

Optimization of ScSZ/GDC bilayer thin film electrolyte for anodic aluminum oxide supported low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Due to the poor chemical stability of CeO2-based materials, doped CeO2 electrolytes are generally used as a stabilized ZrO2 protection layer/doped CeO2 electrolyte bilayer structure. Since the ionic conductivity of stabilized ZrO2 materials is lower than that of doped CeO2 materials, the thickness of the ZrO2 protective layer needs to be optimized. Thus, in this study, nano-porous anodic aluminum oxide template based scandia stabilized zirconia (ScSZ)/gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) bilayer electrolyte low temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) are successfully fabricated and investigated. The optimized thickness of the ScSZ protection layer is revealed by physical and electrochemical characterizations to maximize the performance of LT-SOFCs. The 160 nm ScSZ/400 nm GDC bilayer electrolyte LT-SOFC achieves a maximum power density of 252 mW · cm−2 and an open circuit voltage of 1.02 V OCV at 450 °C.

Tuning the optical properties of nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by control of allowed voltage range via mixed acid concentration

This study investigates the tunable fabrication of photonic crystals (PCs) based on nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) templates through modification of nanopore diameter, affecting the PCs optical response. This was realized by controlling phosphoric acid concentration (CPh) and anodization current density. This approach along with chemical etching offers the opportunity to adjust optical band gap in a wide range of wavelengths (from about 400 to 1100 nm). To this end, the effect of CPh on current density and threshold voltage was investigated. To analyze formation mechanism of resulting multilayers and optimize their optical characteristics, the potential ratio, span, cycles and charge density were examined, thereby providing a band gap as narrow as 6 nm. The sensing analysis revealed that the modified multilayer shows enhanced sensitivity to the changes of effective media inside the nanopores. These findings provide insights into the development of both optical sensors and optoelectronic nanodevices based on the NAA-based PCs.

Improving Triboelectric Nanogenerator Performance Using AAO and Nanopatterned PDMS

The huge environmental crises nowadays from energy consumption pushes the use of green energy grow rapidly, such as the harvest of solar, waves, wind, geothermal, or mechanical energy sources. Among these techniques, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) have a promising potential based on the triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. Even though, TENG have high power conversion efficiency in many previous study but low output power. Here, we focus on the improvement of the output of TENG based on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) and nanopatterned polydimethylsiloxane (NP-PDMS) soft-lithography. The TENGs were fabricated by using PDMS with a nanoporous AAO template as a replica mold. The AAO nanopore arrays can be formed by a low cost, light weight, and simple manufacturing process. For bottom electrode, after PDMS was laminated on the nanoporous AAO arrays (PDMS/AAO), it was stuck to Aluminum foil. In order to peel off the nanostructure PDMS from AAO arrays easily, the AAO was treated by HDFS (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl trichlorosilane) before laminating. By changing the period and diameter of NP-PDMS, we find the optimum TENG output. For the top electrode, we test with AAO and Al foil. With external input frequency of 5 Hz and force of 5N to the TENG device, we can obtain maximum output of 520V open-circuit voltage and 24uA short-circuit current for Al foil as top electrode and 125nm period, 60nm diameter NP-PDMS as bottom electrode. This TENG device after rectification was able to drive 180 LEDs connected in series.

Melt-processed P3HT and PE Polymer Nanofiber Thermal Conductivity

ABSTRACT Thermal management is a growing challenge for electronics packaging because of increased heat fluxes and device miniaturization. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used in electronic devices to transfer heat between two adjacent surfaces. TIMs need to exhibit high thermal conductivity and must be soft to minimize thermal contact resistance. Polymers, despite their relative softness, suffer from low thermal conductivity (∼0.2 W/m-K). To overcome this challenge, we infiltrate nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates with molten polymer to fabricate large area arrays of vertically aligned polymer nanofibers. Nanoscale confinement effects and flow induced chain elongation improve polymer chain alignment (measured using polarized Raman spectroscopy) and thermal conductivity (measured using the photoacoustic method) along the fiber’s long axis. Conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and non- conjugated polyethylene (PE) of various molecular weights are explored to establish a relationship between polymer structure, nanofiber diameter, and the resulting thermal conductivity. In general, thermal conductivity improves with decreasing fiber diameter and increasing polymer molecular weight. Thermal conductivity of approximately 7 W/m-K was achieved for both the ∼200 nm diameter HDPE fibers and the 100 nm diameter P3HT fibers. These results pave the way for optimization of the processing conditions to produce high thermal conductivity fiber arrays using different polymers, which could potentially be used in thermal interface applications.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of Transparent and Conducting Ta-Doped ZnO Thin Films

ZnO based transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) offer earth abundant alternatives to conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) films. At the same time, ALD enables discretized doping of substitutional cations at a monolayer level, providing fine and exquisite control over dopant concentration and resultant properties. In this work, we present the ALD of tantalum (Ta) doped ZnO (TZO) films. Compared to dopants such as Al3+ and Ti4+, a Ta cation exists in +5 oxidation state and thus, can ideally transfer 3 electrons by substitutionally doping a Zn2+ site. We show that 30 nm TZO films with 2 at% Ta provides a minimum resistivity of 4 mW.cm at room temperature and optical transmissivity of > 86% in the visible range. The precursors used for Zn, O and Ta are diethyl Zn (DEZ), H2O and pentakis-dimethylamido Ta (PDMAT). The targeted % Ta is varied from 2 to 20% by introduction of PDMAT pulse between DEZ and H2O pulses. The electron concentration and the mobility are measured using Hall measurements. A minimum resistivity of 4 mW.cm with carrier density of 9.0x1019 cm-3 and a mobility of 17.7 cm2/V-sec is observed at 2 at% Ta at room temperature. UV-Vis spectroscopy indicates a monotonic increase in bandgap of TZO from 3.2 to 3.4 eV upon addition of Ta. Photoluminescence (PL) shows a quenching of the green band emission of ZnO associated with oxygen defects upon the addition of 2 at% Ta. Upon further Ta addition, a red shifted defect peak appears which is attributed to formation of new Zn vacancies. This data is supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), showing removal of O vacancies and a clear Ta-O-Zn bond formation for higher Ta doping. The conductivity of ZnO and 2% Ta doping ZnO behave differently as a function of temperature. TZO have different activation energy compare to pure ZnO. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) indicate the crystallinity change with the Ta doping. The results provide a clear understanding on the mechanism of Ta doping in ZnO and its direct impact on vacancies and resulting electronic and optical properties. Finally, ALD TZO is deposited on flexible glass substrates and inside nanoporous anodic alumina templates to demonstrate formation of transparent conducting electrodes, conformally on a variety of platforms of relevance to electrochemical research.

Synthesis of highly ordered carbon nanotubes/nanoporous anodic alumina composite membrane and potential application in heavy metal ions removal from industrial wastewater

Highly ordered carbon nanotubes arrays produced within pores of nano porous anodic alumina template via chemical vapor deposition method and pyrolysis of ethylene gas.Effective removal of copper (II) and cadmium (II) from simulated industrial waste water was performed with the nanometer scale pores in composite membrane of highly ordered carbon nanotubes. Our results shows that hydrophobic inner walls of carbon nanotubes have capability to adsorb heavy metal ions. Water pH effect on removal efficiency of composite membrane in was also investigated and the results showed that adsorption percentage of ions is enhancing with increasing pH of the solutions.

Removal of Cr (VI) from Industrial Waste Water by Iron Nanowires Synthesized via Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template

Iron nanowires were successfully prepared by electrodeposition method via ordered nanoporous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template since the technique is simple and cost-effective. The preparation of nano porous anodized aluminum template involved annealing and electropolishing as a pretreatment. It has been found that regularity of pores increases after the pre-treatment. The average surface roughness factor (Ra) was measured with the help of portable surface roughness tester. Pore diameter, pore density, porosity and uniformity of pores was determined with the help of image-J software. Morphology of nanoporous oxide and iron nanowires was confirmed with FE-SEM and EDS analysis. The pore diameter of template ranged from 105 nm to 120 nm. The fabricated nano wires were found to have length of 643 nm and diameter of 103 nm with unique environmental applications.

Size- and shape-controlled synthesis of well-organised carbon nanotubes using nanoporous anodic alumina with different pore diameters

This work aims at introducing the synthesis process of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) inside nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) templates adopting a catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach under different conditions. The nanotubular structure of NAA is prepared according to tow-step anodization process. This provides a unique platform to grow CNTs with precisely controlled geometric features. The structural features, crystalline structures and chemical composition of the resulting CNTs-NAA composites were systematically characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) as well as Raman spectroscopy. Preparing the CNTs according to this template technique allows us to obtain nanotubes which are open at one/both end(s) with a uniform diameter (10–200nm) along the pore length (1–100μm) without using any metal catalyst.

A Comparative Study of Anodic Aluminum Oxide Preparation for Synthesis of Nanomaterials

A template-based synthesis of nanomaterials is one of the most simple and low-cost fabricating way. The template-assisted method, which employs porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, allows for a precise control of the morphology and dimensions of deposited nanowires [1, 2]. Nanoporous Al2O3 can be prepared by a two-step anodization of aluminum in acidic electrolytes. During the anodization, Al foil [2] or Al film sputtered on conducting substrates [3] is subjected to anodic oxidation. The anodization of Al foil results in the Al2O3/Al substrate, which is not suitable to carry out a direct electrodeposition into the pores, due to the presence of the non-conductive oxide barrier layer at the oxide/metal interface. To enable a direct electrodeposition in the Al2O3/Al substrate, the barrier layer at the pore bottom has to be removed. There are two basic methods used for the removal of the barrier layer: wet chemical etching [1, 2] and electrochemical [4–8]. The first one, the wet chemical etching requires additional steps, which include: dissolving the aluminum layer remaining after anodization of the Al foil, pore opening and widening in a phosphoric acid solution to obtain a through-hole membrane, and the sputter deposition of the conductive metal layer that serves as a working electrode during electrodeposition. Drawbacks of this method are: the use of harmful chemicals (HgCl2, CuCl2) [2] or concentrated acid solutions (H3PO4, HCl) [1, 2], and multi-stage process (loss of the material at each stage). The alternative method is based on the electrochemical reduction of the barrier layer. Due to the fact that the thickness of the barrier layer depends on the anodizing potential, a gradual decrease in the applied potential leads to a significant reduction of the barrier layer thickness. As a result of this treatment we obtain AAO, with dendritic channels with a very thin barrier layer at the pore bottoms. Such a structure allows to conduct the direct electrodeposition on the aluminum substrate without any additional steps. An important advantage of this method is the fact that the potential reduction is carried out in the same electrolyte in which the anodization was realized. Therefore, the potential reduction can be performed immediately after the anodizing process. On the other hand, there is a new electrochemical method developed by Lira and Paterson [7] for AAO detachment from the aluminum substrate. It was found that a large voltage pulse applied to the sample results in simultaneous membrane detachment and pore opening. The voltage detachment method has significant advantages over the typically used chemical etching, e.g., it is faster, and environmental friendly. As-obtained AAO membranes are suitable for electrodeposition of metallic nanostructures. Herein, we report on investigation of electrochemical methods for the AAO membrane preparation and their optimization toward further metallic nanostructure deposition. Highly ordered nanoporous AAO templates were fabricated by a two-step self-organized anodization of aluminum carried out in oxalic and sulfuric acids solutions. In the first method, the barrier layer thinning was done by applying an exponentially decreasing voltage at the end of anodization process. Depending on the function used for the reduction of the barrier layer and its thickness, the dendrite-like structures of the barrier layer were observed at the cross-sections. In the second method, a modified voltage detachment method in a mixture of HClO4 and ethanol was used. Different pulses were applied for the detachment of alumina formed in oxalic and sulfuric acids.

Fabrication of a Novel Nanostructured SnO2/LiCoO2 Lithium-Ion Cell

ABSTRACTIncorporating nanotechnology processes and techniques to Li ion batteries has helped to improve the cycling capabilities and overall performance of several lithium ion battery chemistries. Nanostructuring a lithium ion battery’s anode and cathode, allows for extremely high surface area electrodes to be produced and utilized in many of these battery systems. Using a nanoporous Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) membrane with nanopores of 200nm in diameter as a template, high surface area nanostructured electrode materials can be synthesized and utilized in a lithium ion cell. Through the use of RF magnetron sputter coating, these nanoporous AAO templates can be sputter coated with a thin film of active anode or cathode materials. The anode and cathode material in this research are SnO2 and LiCoO2, respectively. Nanostructured SnO2 has been investigated as an alternative high capacity anode to replace the more commonly used carbon based anodes of current lithium ion batteries. A novel nanostructured SnO2/LiCoO2 cell can be fabricated in a liquid electrolyte. The galvanostatic cell cycling performance will be discussed. Nanostructuring both electrode materials as well as the electrolyte can lead to a novel all-solid-state Li ion battery. Nanostructured SnO2 anode and LiCoO2 electrodes have been generated along with a polyethylene-oxide (PEO) based electrolyte nanoconfined in an AAO membrane, to generate a functioning nanostructured all-solid-state cell. The cell was investigated using AC impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic cell cycling. The cycling results of both SnO2/LiCoO2 cell systems will be discussed.

Self-assembly of aligned CuO nanorod arrays using nanoporous anodic alumina template by electrodeposition on Si substrate for IR photodetectors

Hexagonally highly-ordered thin nanoporous anodic alumina (AAO) template of pre-deposited Al thin film onto Si substrate was fabricated under controllable conditions through a two-step anodization for the growth of nanostructured materials. The obtained AAO template has approximately 60nm of pore diameter and 1200nm length with 110nm interpore distances within an area of 0.75cm2. A bottom barrier layer of the AAO template was removed by wet etching using phosphoric acid (5wt%) for several minutes at room temperature. As an application, Cu nanorod-arrays embedded in AAO template was prepared by dc electrodeposition. The electrodeposited Cu nanorod-arrays onto Si based AAO template were oxidized at optimized conditions inside a conventional furnace to produce high-quality CuO nanorod arrays. The free-standing CuO nanorod arrays were formed after subsequent removal of AAO template. Fast with high-performance CuO nanorod-arrays IR photodetector based on MSM were fabricated with Al contact electrodes and its optoelectronic properties were examined. The electrical performance and photoelectric response performance were studied and the results showed that IR photodetector exhibited a high sensitivity to 808nm IR laser light. Both the response and recovery time were found to be fast; 0.19 and 0.17s, respectively, which are much shortest time compared to other IR photodetectors reported in the literature.

Aluminum alloys anodisation for nanotemplates application

The aim of this investigation was to reveal the processing differences in achieving nanoporous anodized aluminium from aluminium alloys and their application for cobalt nanowires electrodeposition. The following types of aluminium were tested: pure Al (99.99%), and commercial alloys: AA1050, 6082 and 6060. Because of the differences in the surface temperature and high voltages during the anodizing steps, some stresses can be built up in the material. Therefore a strict temperature control should be done to limit thermal stresses in materials. Alloying elements (Si, Mg) cause precipitates that are observed on the surface, especially for 6060 alloy. Nevertheless, a nanoporous structure can be obtained at the end of second anodization step on all aluminium alloys investigated. It was shown that the number density of pores on the surface is practically independent on the aluminium alloys used. However, the degree of hexagonal distribution of the pores depends on the type of anodized aluminium alloy. Also, a successful fabrication of Co nanowire arrays using nanoporous anodic alumina template produced on Al alloy has been demonstrated, and the uniform filling of the template by cobalt nanowires arrays is discussed.

Magnetoelectric Coupling in Well-Ordered Epitaxial BiFeO3/CoFe2O4/SrRuO3 Heterostructured Nanodot Array.

Multiferroic magnetoelectric (ME) composites exhibit sizable ME coupling at room temperature, promising applications in a wide range of novel devices. For high density integrated devices, it is indispensable to achieve a well-ordered nanostructured array with reasonable ME coupling. For this purpose, we explored the well-ordered array of isolated epitaxial BiFeO3/CoFe2O4/SrRuO3 heterostructured nanodots fabricated by nanoporous anodic alumina (AAO) template method. The arrayed heterostructured nanodots demonstrate well-established epitaxial structures and coexistence of piezoelectric and ferromagnetic properties, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and peizoeresponse/magnetic force microscopy (PFM/MFM). It was found that the heterostructured nanodots yield apparent ME coupling, likely due to the effective transfer of interface couplings along with the substantial release of substrate clamping. A noticeable change in piezoelectric response of the nanodots can be triggered by magnetic field, indicating a substantial enhancement of ME coupling. Moreover, an electric field induced magnetization switching in these nanodots can be observed, showing a large reverse ME effect. These results offer good opportunities of the nanodots for applications in high-density ME devices, e.g., high density recording (>100 Gbit/in.(2)) or logic devices.

Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 nanotubes synthesis and infrared absorption properties

Herein a useful methodology to synthesize the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanotubes via a dip-coating deposition process with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template is proposed. The nano-porous AAO templates were produced using a controlled two-step electrochemical anodization technique. The PZT/AAO composite was formed using the dip-coating wetting technique. The prepared PZT precursor solution was driven into the nanopore channels of AAO template under the driving force of capillary action, subsequently the sintering process of the as-filled templates was carefully tuned to obtain Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 nanotubes of crystalline tetragonal phase with uniform pore size and ordered arrange. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results show that in the 1200–1900cm−1 band, the composite structure of PZT/AAO has obvious absorption peaks at 1471.56cm−1 and 1556.09cm−1, the absorption intensity of the composite structure is about six times of pure AAO template. The unusual optical properties found in PZT/AAO composite will stimulate further theoretical and experimental interests in ferroelectric nanostructures.

Study of the magnetization behavior of ferromagnetic nanowire array: Existence of growth defects revealed by micromagnetic simulations

High aspect ratio nanowires were electrodeposited in nanoporous anodic alumina template by a potentiostatic method. The angular dependence of the coercive field and remanence magnetization extracted from magnetometry measurements are compared with micromagnetic simulations. Inclusion of magnetostatic interactions between Ni nanowires in simulations is required to explain some of the properties of the magnetization reversal. However, it is not sufficient to reproduce fully the angular dependence of the coercive field. Due to the polycrystalline nature of nanowires and thus to the presence of grain boundaries, defects are included in simulations. A good agreement between theory and experiment is then clearly highlighted, in particular in the nanowire easy axis direction. The achieved results allow a description of several experimental data published in the literature and consequently to get a better understanding of reversal mechanisms that operate in such nanowire arrays. A complementary study of composite nanowire array is successfully performed to prove the adequacy of the simulations method to describe the magnetic properties of nanowire array.

Magnetic–optical bifunctional CoPt3/Co multilayered nanowire arrays**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51472165, 51471185, and 11274370).

CoPt3/Co multilayered nanowire (NW) arrays are synthesized by pulsed electrodeposition into nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The electrochemistry deposition parameters are determined by cyclic voltammetry to realize the well control of the ratio of Co to Pt and the length of every segment. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that both Co and CoPt3 NWs exhibit face-centered cubic (fcc) structures. In the UV-visible absorption spectra, CoPt3/Co NW arrays show a red-shift with respect to pure CoPt3NWs. Compared with the pure Co nanowire arrays, the CoPt3/Co multilayered nanowire arrays show a weak shape anisotropy and well-modulated magnetic properties. CoPt3/Co multilayered nanowires are highly encouraging that new families of bimetallic nanosystems may be developed to meet the needs of nanomaterials in emerging multifunctional nanotechnologies.

Highly Transparent and Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Subwavelength-Architectured Polydimethylsiloxane by a Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template.

Highly transparent and flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were fabricated using the subwavelength-architectured (SWA) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template as a replica mold. The SWA PDMS could be utilized as a multifunctional film for a triboelectric layer, an antireflection coating, and a self-cleaning surface. The nanopore arrays of AAO were formed by a simple, fast, and cost-effective electrochemical oxidation process of aluminum, which is relatively impressive for fabrication of the TENG device. For electrical contacts, the SWA PDMS was laminated on the indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a bottom electrode, and the bare ITO-coated PET (i.e., ITO/PET) was used for the top electrode. Compared to the ITO/PET, the SWA PDMS on the ITO/PET improved the transmittance from 80.5 to 83% in the visible wavelength region and also had high transmittances of >85% at wavelengths of 430-455 nm. The SWA PDMS also exhibited the hydrophobic surface with a water contact angle (θCA) of ∼115°, which can be useful for self-cleaning applications. The average transmittance (Tavg) of the entire TENG device was observed to be ∼70% over a broad wavelength range. At an external pushing frequency of 0.5 Hz, for the TENG device with the ITO top electrode, open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current (ISC) values of ∼3.8 V and ∼0.8 μA were obtained instantaneously, respectively, which were higher than those (i.e., VOC ≈ 2.2 V, and ISC ≈ 0.4 μA) of the TENG device with a gold top electrode. The effect of external pushing force and frequency on the output device performance of the TENGs was investigated, including the device robustness. A theoretical optical analysis of SWA PDMS was also performed.