Generating Electric Current Based on the Solvent-Dependent Charging Effects of Defective Boron Nitride Nanosheets

Abstract

This work presents a method of generating electric current based on the defects of few-layer boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs). The density functional theory calculations showed that the atomic charge of the B atom in acetone was more positive than in water. The electrostatic force microscopy measurements illustrated that the local electrical potential was 0.35 mV in acetone, while the potential signal was very difficult to capture when using water as the dispersant. This effect was further demonstrated by the performance of the acoustic energy-harvesting nanogenerator: the BNNSs were assembled into a film after being dispersed in acetone and then integrated into the generator device, generating average output current of ∼0.98 nA, which was much better than 0.2 nA, the average output current of another device with water as the dispersant. These results demonstrated that solvent effects made the as-prepared BNNSs carry net charges, which could be utilized to harvest acoustic energy and generate current.

Recent Progress on Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerators for SelfPowered Electronics

“…At the same time, ecological, abundant, and cheap materials, such as paper,98 have been studied as substrates for TENGs, but new materials are also under scrutiny. For example, recently, the use of 2 D materials such as hexagonal boron nitride was studied as a triboelectric layer99 and graphene was studied as an electrode 75. 100 For the latter, electrodes were usually metal layers or foils.…”

Recent Advancements in Nanogenerators for Energy Harvesting

“…A further example is provided by the generation of electric current is based on the defects of few-layer boron nitride nanosheets. [ 53 ] The density functional theory was used to demonstrate that the atomic charge of the B atom in acetone is more positive than in water. The solvent effects in acetone change the net charges on the surface of the boron nitride nanosheets, which is essential to harvest more acoustic energy.…”

“…This work is of vital importance because it reveals that lightweight and flexible materials are feasible and able to fabricate portable and durable devices to harvest energy. A further example is provided by the generation of electric current is based on the defects of few‐layer boron nitride nanosheets . The density functional theory was used to demonstrate that the atomic charge of the B atom in acetone is more positive than in water.…”

Molecule‐Driven Nanoenergy Generator

“…or semiconducting nanostructures can generate an electrical potential difference and associated electric current along the liquid flow direction . Small “streaming potentials” and “chemicurrents” were observed during the interactions of liquid‐CNTs, graphene, boron nitride (BN) nanosheets, indium arsenide (InAs) nanowires (NWs), and gas–metal surface . These phenomena indicate a variety of potential applications via chemical molecular interactions with semiconductors including chemical and biological sensors, heterogeneous catalysis, molecular electronics (moletronics), and surface‐chemistry‐driven actuators .…”