Mylar Interlayer-Mediated Performance Enhancement of a Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-Powered Pressure Sensing Application

Abstract

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a green energy harvester that transforms mechanical energy from the surroundings and body movements into useful electrical energy by the combined effect of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. Here, we have developed a flexible organic–inorganic film-based contact separation mode TENG with polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and indium oxide (IO) films as contact materials. A biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BoPET) film (known as “Mylar”) has been used as the charge transition-blocking interlayer between the PVB triboelectric layer and the electrode, which prevents the recombination of generated charges with the interfacial charges on the electrode and thereby enhances the electrical output performance. The fabricated flexible PVB-IO TENG having a contact area of 4 cm2 and a separation gap of 5 mm generates an output voltage and a short-circuit current density of ∼700 V and ∼1.52 mA/m2, respectively. An enhancement of ∼85-fold in the peak power density is obtained for the PVB-IO TENG with the BoPET layer at a load resistance of 200 MΩ in comparison with the one without the BoPET interlayer. The as-fabricated device was used for capacitor charging and powering electronic gadgets such as digital thermometers, calculators, and LEDs. Also, the developed PVB-IO TENG has been demonstrated for the mechanical energy scavenging from human motions such as finger tapping, palm tapping, finger bending, and elbow bending. Moreover, the PVB-IO TENG was structurally modified into a self-powered pressure sensor by reducing its contact area and separation gap, which exhibits an excellent sensitivity of ∼4.38 V/kPa in the pressure range from 0.5 to 16 kPa.

Rational Design of Flexible Mechanical Force Sensors for Healthcare and Diagnosis

“…Recently, the triboelectric effect has found widespread applications in the design of flexible mechanical force sensors [ 77 , 153 , 154 , 162 , 164 , 240 , 241 , 242 , 243 , 244 , 245 , 246 , 247 , 248 , 249 , 250 , 251 , 252 , 253 , 254 ], particularly those with self-powered capabilities. In 2012, Professor Zhonglin Wang first proposed the concept of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) [ 255 ].…”

Pressure-Driven Piezoelectric Sensors and Energy Harvesting in Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate Film

“…For BOPET films, mainly SiO 2 is used in small quantities in order to reduce friction during winding and handling. Currently, only the triboelectricity of BOPET is considered for the generation of nanogenerators [ 24 , 25 ]. In this study, BOPET containing SiO 2 particles is considered as a piezoelectric composite to construct self-powered sensors of mechanical stimuli and as a source of effective electrical energy harvesting, thereby generating electrical signals.…”

An electrospun PVDF-KNN nanofiber based lead-free piezoelectric nanogenerator for mechanical energy scavenging and self-powered force sensing applications

“…4 Since then, intense research in this field produced a series of self-powered flexible electronic systems and even implantable biomedical devices, by harvesting and storing energy from the ambient environment. 5–9 PVDF based nanogenerators have proven to be highly suitable for IoT systems owing to their integrability on various surfaces. 10,11…”

“…4 Since then, intense research in this eld produced a series of self-powered exible electronic systems and even implantable biomedical devices, by harvesting and storing energy from the ambient environment. [5][6][7][8][9] PVDF based nanogenerators have proven to be highly suitable for IoT systems owing to their integrability on various surfaces. 10,11 Several strategies were illustrated by researchers for enhancing the piezoelectric performance of PVDF, which include modied fabrication techniques, and incorporation of inorganic and organic piezoelectric materials into the host PVDF.…”