Doped-Cellulose Acetate Membranes as Friction Layers for Triboelectric Nanogenerators: The Influence of Roughness Degree and Surface Potential on Electrical Performance

Abstract

The development of more efficient friction layers for triboelectric nanogenerators is a complex task, requiring a careful balance of various material properties such as morphology, surface roughness, dielectric constant, and surface potential. In this study, we thoroughly investigated the use of cellulose acetate modified with different concentrations of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to enhance energy harvesting for the TENG. The results indicate that the roughness degree is influenced by the homogeneous degree/aggregation level of doping agents in cellulose acetate membranes, leading to the best performance of open circuit voltage of 282.8 V, short-circuit current of 3.42 µA, and power density of 60 µW/cm2 for ZnO-doped cellulose acetate membranes.