Eco-Friendly Triboelectric Material Based on Natural Rubber and Activated Carbon from Human Hair

Abstract

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has emerged as a novel energy technology that converts mechanical energy from surrounding environments to electricity. The TENG fabricated from environmentally friendly materials would encourage the development of next-generation energy technologies that are green and sustainable. In the present work, a green triboelectric material has been fabricated from natural rubber (NR) filled with activated carbon (AC) derived from human hair. It is found that the TENG fabricated from an NR-AC composite as a tribopositive material and a poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sheet as a tribonegative one generates the highest peak-to-peak output voltage of 89.6 V, highest peak-to-peak output current of 6.9 µA, and can deliver the maximum power density of 242 mW/m2. The finding of this work presents a potential solution for the development of a green and sustainable energy source.

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

“…The AC, a carbon material with a high specific surface area 1875 m 2 /g (BET), was added to a modified surface morphology of the NR–CNF composite film. Furthermore, AC is a conductive material, and despite its relatively low electrical conductivity, it is able to promote charge capacitance, which is an additional contribution to intensifying the triboelectric charge density of the NR composite films [ 12 , 28 ]. The AC powder at 0.2–0.6 wt% was incorporated into the NR–CNF as well as the NR, for comparison.…”

“…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.…”

“…Activated carbon (AC) is a highly-porous carbonaceous material with a high surface area [ 31 ], which is attractive for modifying the surface structure of the NR composite. So far, there are still very few reports on using AC as a triboelectric material for TENG [ 12 , 32 ].…”

Fe3O4-Filled Cellulose Paper for Triboelectric Nanogenerator Application

“…Like other TENGs, output voltage increased with increasing frequency from 1–10 Hz, which reached the highest output voltage of 272 V at 10 Hz. This was ascribed to the high charge transfer rate due to the increased movement speed of the triboelectric layer [ 27 , 35 , 36 ].…”