Miura folding based charge-excitation triboelectric nanogenerator for potable power supply

Miniaturized mobile electronic devices have aroused great attention due to their convenience to daily life. However, they still face a problem that power supply from the conventional cell needs to be regularly charged or replaced. Portable electricity supply collecting energy from environment is highly desired. Herein, a highly flexible and stretchable Miura folding based triboelectric nanogenerator (MF-TENG) is prepared by using flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a folding substrate with a double working side design, specifically one side as the main TENG (M-TENG) and other side as the excitation TENG (E-TENG). The E-TENG supplements charge to M-TENG by a half-wave rectifier circuit. This design increases the TENG working area and reduces its volume. The output performance of the TENG based on Miura folding with charge excitation called MF-CE-TENG is greatly boosted. The optimal output charge and maximum peak power of MF-CE-TENG achieves 1.54 mu C and 5.17 mW at 1 Hz, respectively, which is 4.61 and 10.55 times as much as that of MF-TENG without charge excitation. To demonstrate its applications, the MF-CE-TENG is used to light up 456 LEDs brightly and charge a 100 mu F capacitor to 6.07 V in 5 min. A calculator and a temperature-humidity sensor work normally powered by MF-CE-TENG with an energy management module. This work provides a new strategy to enhance the output energy of Miura folding TENG by applying a charge excitation mode for the first time, which might be an effective approach to be used in other TENGs.

Automated summary

A highly flexible and stretchable Miura folding based triboelectric nanogenerator (MF-TENG) is prepared with a double working side design, achieving optimal output charge and maximum peak power greatly boosted compared to traditional TENG designs. The use of charge excitation mode for the first time enhances the energy output of the MF-TENG, making it suitable for various applications, such as powering LEDs and other electronic devices effectively.