Surface Area Enhanced Nylon-6,6 Nanofiber Engineered Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-Powered Seat Monitoring Applications

Abstract

High-performance triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG), generally comprised of either a pair of surface-functionalized or dielectric modulated composite frictional layers, are technically unreliable from a commercial perspective, because of the complex fabrication procedures and configurations. This work projects a surface area enforced electrospun Nylon-6,6-based TENG as the vibrational energy scavenging and seat occupation detection system. The devised TENG can derive an output response of more than 300 μA of short circuit current, 350 V of open circuit voltage, and a power density of 550 mW m–2, which is the highest compared to previously reported Nylon-based dielectric-metal contact separation-based TENGs. The seat occupation sensing was successfully evaluated during a test drive on the TENG fitted vehicle. The charging up of a 1 μF capacitor to ∼30 V in 30 s marks the potential of Nylon-6,6 as a promising material for many applications, including smart transit.

Sustainable energy harvesting and breath sensing with electrospun triboelectric nylon-6

“…Figure 3(a) shows the FTIR spectra of nanofibers prepared by varying the weight percentages of nylon-6. The N-H stretching of nylon-6 exhibits the characteristic features of a polyamide, displaying a peak at 3309 cm −1 and a secondary peak at 3075 cm −1 [16,23,24]. The peak corresponding to the aliphatic C-H stretching vibration in the polymer chain was observed at 2933 cm −1 in nylon-6 samples.…”

“…To restore potential equilibrium, electrons move from the top to the bottom electrode, creating an electric current pulse with an opposite polarity. Hence, the periodic application and removal of a constant force give rise to positive and negative charge pulses in the system [16,[29][30][31].…”

“…A study showcased the application of an electrospun nylon-6,6-based TENG to harvest vibrational energy and detect seat occupancy. This TENG exhibited a short-circuit current of 300 µA, an open-circuit voltage of 350 V, and a remarkable power density of 550 mW m -2 by palm pressing on a 4 cm * 4 cm sized tribo material (nylon-6,6) and copper (Cu) electrode [16]. In a textile-based TENG, the electrospun nylon-6,6 nanofibers were introduced to enhance the tribopositive properties of silk.…”

Progress in techniques for improving the output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators

“…After tests, the maximum instantaneous output voltage produced by the assembled TENG was about 170 V, which was three times higher than that of the pure P(VDF-TrFE) film. Mathew et al 113 designed a surface-enhanced vibration energy harvester via pure nylon-66 electrospun nanofibers. As shown in Fig.…”