Textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators with high-performance via optimized functional elastomer composited tribomaterials as wearable power source. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bai, Zhiqing; Zhang, Zhi; Li, Jingyi; Guo, Jiansheng
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 65(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Triboelectric nanogenerator -- Functional tribomaterials -- Fabric substrate -- Performance enhancement -- Power source; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: Wearable power sources with high performance are attracting intensive attention, owing to their great potential in new-generation wearable electronics. Herein, we proposed a composited fabric with flexible functional elastomer layers (FEL@CF) and employed it as a negative tribomaterial in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The FEL@CF consists of a low-temperature vulcanized silicone (LTV) electrification layer, CNTs/Ecoflex nanocomposite layer, super-soft Ecoflex layer and conductive fabric substrate, which play critical roles on the output enhancement of FEL@CF-based TENG (abbreviated as FEL@CF-TENG). The effect of the thickness of the Ecoflex layer and CNTs content in the nanocomposite layer on the electrical performance of FEL@CF-TENG were systematically investigated. The FEL@CF with 180 μm thick Ecoflex layer and 1.6 wt% CNTs content was realized as an optimal sample to obtain optimum output signals. The high outputs (~490 V, ~43 μA, ~70 nC, 1.6 mW/cm 2 ) were obtained from the optimal FEL@CF-TENG (2.5 × 2.5 cm 2 ) under small force (~16 N) and low frequency (~1.5 Hz). The flexible FEL@CF-TENG can power for wearable electronics by harvesting biomechanical energy and operate in dual-electrodes mode (FEL@CF-DTENG) or single-electrode mode (FEL@CF-STENG). Especially, the power glove made of FEL@CF-STENG can contact with various daily-used objects for human motion energy harvesting. The durability and washability of FEL@CF-TENGs were also performed, exhibiting excellent stability even under harsh and complex conditions. All these merits of the FEL@CF-TENG not only provide a promising strategy for exploring high-performance wearable power source but also show great potential for applications in portable electronics and electronic textiles. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A novel high-performance FEL@CF-based T-TENG was fabricated by a simple and cost-effective route. The structure of FEL@CF tribomaterial was optimized by investigating the effect of functional elastomer on the performance. The optimized FEL@CF has ability to construct the dual-electrodes mode and a single-electrode mode T-TENG. FEL@CF-TENGs can harvest biomechanical energy, exhibiting great potential in new-generation wearable electronics.