Ag Nanoparticle-Incorporated Natural Rubber for Mechanical Energy Harvesting Application

Abstract

The energy conversion performance of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a function of triboelectric charges which depend on the intrinsic properties of materials to hold charges or the dielectric properties of triboelectric materials. In this work, Ag nanoparticles were synthesized and used to incorporate into natural rubber (NR) in order to enhance the dielectric constant for enhancing the electrical output of TENG. It was found that the size of Ag nanoparticles was reduced with the increasing CTAB concentration. Furthermore, the CTAB surfactant helped the dispersion of metallic Ag nanoparticles in the NR-insulating matrix, which promoted interfacial polarization that affected the dielectric properties of the NR composite. Ag nanoparticle-incorporated NR films exhibited an improved dielectric constant of up to almost 40% and an enhanced TENG performance that generated the highest power density of 262.4 mW/m2.

Natural Rubber-TiO2 Nanocomposite Film for Triboelectric Nanogenerator Application

“…Comparing to other previous reports, the fabricated TENG showed a superior performance than the PDMS-Kapton-implanted TENG with a power density of 8.44 mW/m 2 [ 33 ], the 2D woven wearable TENG fabricated from nylon and polyester threads with a power density of 2.33 mW/m 2 [ 34 ], and approaching a propeller TENG made of PTFE and Al triboelectric materials with a power density of 283.95 mW/m 2 [ 35 ]. In addition, comparing to the NR-based TENG, the NR-TiO 2 TENG exhibited the comparable output power to the NR-Ag TENG in our previous report which was 262.4 mW/m 2 [ 36 ]. The slightly lower TENG electrical output of the NR-TiO 2 composite than that of the NR-Ag one was attributed to the lower dielectric constant of the NR-TiO 2 .…”

Power Output Enhancement of Natural Rubber Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Cellulose Nanofibers and Activated Carbon

“…Biocompatible and environmentally friendly TENGs have been extensively developed in recent years. There are many natural materials that have been employed to fabricate TENG, such as plant leaf [ 4 ], silk [ 5 ], wood [ 6 ], chitin and chitosan [ 7 , 8 ], cellulose [ 9 ], and natural rubber [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Natural rubber (NR) is one of the promising natural materials for the fabrication of a green and highly efficient TENG, since it is a natural polymer extracted from the Hevea brasiliensis tree [ 13 ] and widely used for manufacturing many industrial products which are used in kinetic situations.…”

“…NR is tribopositive when tested with PTFE, which is the most tribonegative material [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Modified NR with improved electron-donating properties to increase positive tribopolarity would improve the electrification effect, giving rise to the enhancement of the TENG performance.…”

Boosting the Power Output of a Cement-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator by Enhancing Dielectric Polarization with Highly Dispersed Carbon Black Nanoparticles toward Large-Scale Energy Harvesting from Human Footsteps

“…The dielectric property of triboelectric materials is one of the key parameters influencing TENG performance. − A triboelectric material with a high dielectric constant or relative permittivity gives a high electrical output of TENG. ,− In polymer triboelectric materials, their dielectric properties were tuned by adding the following filler materials: (i) high dielectric materials such as SrTiO 3 , BaTiO 3 , and CCTO; (ii) metal oxides such as SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , HfO 2 , Ta 2 O 5 , and TiO 2 ; ,, and (iii) conductive nanoparticles including metal nanoparticles such as Ag , and Au or carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphite nanoparticles . Among these materials, a carbon material, in particular carbon black (CB), is a very attractive conductive material to incorporate in cement to enhance dielectric properties due to its efficiency and cost-effectiveness .…”