Fully wood-based green triboelectric nanogenerators

In recent times, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been extensively studied as green sources for harvesting energy. Paradoxically, TENGs are mostly based on nondegradable synthetic plastics, which are the main source of marine pollution. Here, we explore the possibility of adopting alternative materials like natural wood-based TENGs to reduce marine microplastics. This is the first report on a TENG employing flexible porous wood-based friction layers as both negative and positive materials to enhance triboelectric output. The all-wood-based TENG device demonstrates a very high voltage of 90.1 V and current density of 114.4 nA.cm(-2), corresponding to a power of 54.53 mW on a 4.7 x 10(6) Omega load at 8.2 N. The observed output voltage from the chemically-treated wood-based TENG can be increased to similar to 20.5 times compared to the delignified wood-based TENG. This work can provide a new mode for bio-degradable TENG systems to solve the escalating plastic waste problem.

Automated summary

This study explores the possibility of using wood-based TENG as alternative materials to reduce marine microplastics. The research demonstrates that the all-wood-based TENG device shows high voltage and current density, providing a new solution for biodegradable TENG systems.