Highly Transparent and Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Subwavelength-Architectured Polydimethylsiloxane by a Nanoporous Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template

Abstract

Highly transparent and flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were fabricated using the subwavelength-architectured (SWA) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template as a replica mold. The SWA PDMS could be utilized as a multifunctional film for a triboelectric layer, an antireflection coating, and a self-cleaning surface. The nanopore arrays of AAO were formed by a simple, fast, and cost-effective electrochemical oxidation process of aluminum, which is relatively impressive for fabrication of the TENG device. For electrical contacts, the SWA PDMS was laminated on the indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a bottom electrode, and the bare ITO-coated PET (i.e., ITO/PET) was used for the top electrode. Compared to the ITO/PET, the SWA PDMS on the ITO/PET improved the transmittance from 80.5 to 83% in the visible wavelength region and also had high transmittances of >85% at wavelengths of 430-455 nm. The SWA PDMS also exhibited the hydrophobic surface with a water contact angle (θCA) of ∼115°, which can be useful for self-cleaning applications. The average transmittance (Tavg) of the entire TENG device was observed to be ∼70% over a broad wavelength range. At an external pushing frequency of 0.5 Hz, for the TENG device with the ITO top electrode, open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current (ISC) values of ∼3.8 V and ∼0.8 μA were obtained instantaneously, respectively, which were higher than those (i.e., VOC ≈ 2.2 V, and ISC ≈ 0.4 μA) of the TENG device with a gold top electrode. The effect of external pushing force and frequency on the output device performance of the TENGs was investigated, including the device robustness. A theoretical optical analysis of SWA PDMS was also performed.

Omnidirectional Triboelectric Nanogenerator Operated by Weak Wind towards a Self-Powered Anemoscope

“…Recently, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), first invented in 2012, has been utilized to harvest mechanical energy from our living environment into electricity based on triboelectrification and electrostatic induction [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19], possessing the properties such as simple and low-cost fabrication process, high output performance, high efficiency at low frequency, and eco-friendly characteristic [20][21][22][23]. At this rate, harvesting wind energy to develop TENG technology is necessary because energy harvesting from wind can not only reduce the fabrication cost but also extend the potential applications of TENGs.…”

A Facile Method and Novel Mechanism Using Microneedle‐Structured PDMS for Triboelectric Generator Applications

“…Actually, most investigations focus on developing tribo‐surface structures, such as lines, cubes, nanorod arrays, pyramids, conductive textiles (CTs), nanopatterns, or subwavelength architectures, in order to enhance the output electricity. However, the above structures have some limitations, including complex, long‐time, high‐cost fabrication processes based on photolithography, electrochemical deposition, or soft lithography methods . Besides that, their electric performances also have limited values in open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) and current density ( J ), as listed in Table 1 .…”

“…[16] The success of TEG/TENG has uncovered a number of different research areas to harvest wasted energy from our living environment. Actually, most investigations focus on developing tribo-surface structures, such as lines, cubes, [17] nanorod arrays, [18] pyramids, [19] conductive textiles (CTs), [20] nanopatterns, [21] or subwavelength architectures, [22] in order to enhance the output electricity. However, the above structures have some limitations, including complex, long-time, high-cost fabrication processes based on photolithography, [17] electrochemical deposition, [18] or soft lithography methods.…”

“…However, the above structures have some limitations, including complex, long-time, high-cost fabrication processes based on photolithography, [17] electrochemical deposition, [18] or soft lithography methods. [22] Besides that, their electric performances also have limited values in open-circuit voltage (V OC ) and current density (J), as listed in Table 1.…”

Magnetization‐Induced Self‐Assembling of Bendable Microneedle Arrays for Triboelectric Nanogenerators

“…[10] Hence, a lot of investigations focus on developing the protruding surface structures, including the dome array, [2b] cube array, [11] pyramid array, [12] nanorod array, [13] and subwavelength architectures, [14] in order to enhance the output electricity. [9] The electrical output performance of TENG can be improved by enhancing the surface roughness of the triboelectric materials, which can lead to an enlargement of the contact or friction area.…”