Molecular Doped Biodegradable Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Optimal Output Performance

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers (BPs)‐based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have advantages, including biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, biodegradable TENGs (BD‐TENGs) possess relatively low output performance, limiting their application due to the small differences in triboelectric polarities for most BPs. Molecular doping is a simple and effective method in altering the triboelectric polarity of triboelectric materials and improving the output performance of BD‐TENGs. However, there is a lack of laws and mechanism about the differences in triboelectric polarities of different doped molecules, especially of molecules with biodegradability and biocompatibility. Here, kinds of doping molecules are selected for doping in tribopositive and tribonegative materials, respectively, and their triboelectric polarities and related laws are researched. In particular, the output performance of BD‐TENG is improved several times by doping small amounts of poly (propylene glycol) (PPG) and ethyl cellulose (EC), with enhanced resolution in abnormal respiratory signal monitoring. This work not only provides theoretical guidance for the selection of triboelectric molecules but also conducts in‐depth research in molecular‐level triboelectric mechanisms.

All-Cellulose Nanofiber-Based Sustainable Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Enhanced Energy Harvesting

“…Compared with the untreated CM, the surface of the The CM was modified by fluorination, where the hydroxyl groups carried on its surface were changed to fluorine-containing functional groups, and the reagent impregnation remained on the surface of the membrane. Compared with the CM and CAM, the thickness and the density of the FCM increased to about 95 µm, 0.57 g/cm 3 . The morphology of the FCMs with various modification degrees was observed by SEM and the obtained images are illustrated in Figure 3a-d.…”

“…Figure 2a,b present the photos of the CAM and CM, respectively. The CAM appears white and there is no significant color change observed in the CM after deacetylation, and the thickness and density of the CM decreased from 77 µm, 0.36 g/cm 3 for the CAM to 67 µm, 0.17 g/cm 3 , respectively. Furthermore, the morphology and structure of the CAM and CM were observed by SEM, and the results are shown in Figure 2d,e.…”

“…The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https: //www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/polym16131784/s1, Figure S1: Photograph of the FC-TENG; Figure S2: Dielectric constant curves of the membranes; Figure S3 photographs of the FC-TENG before (a) and after (b) 15,000 recycles of operation; Table S1: Output performance of FC-TENG with other recent reported cellulose-based TENGs; Video S1: The video of the FC-TENG press and release cycle operates 15,000 times; Video S2: The video of the calculator powered by the commercial capacitor after FC-TENG charging. References [3,39,41,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52] are cited in the Supplementary Materials.…”

“…As the energy crisis and environmental pollution become more prominent, the search for clean energy and eco-friendly functional materials that can replace fossil resources has become a global research focus [1,2]. Among the diverse energy harvesting devices, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) stands out for its ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy through the coupling effect of contact electrification and electrostatic induction [3,4]. Since its initial discovery in 2012 [5], TENG has attracted considerable attention owing to its high power output, versatile material applicability, environmental friendliness, and cost-effective fabrication process [6][7][8].…”