A Low-Cost Simple Sliding Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Energy from Human Activities

A new sliding triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with multiple friction interfaces has been developed. The use of off-the-shelf polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Kapton films as the triboelectric materials, the adoption of cost-effective flexographic printing as the electrode deposition technique, and the avoidance of expensive and time-consuming surface treatments render the new TENG easy-to-fabricate and inherently low cost. The new sliding TENG generates a surface charge density comparable with the previously reported multilayer sliding TENG whose triboelectric surfaces were modified with expensive and time-consuming plasma etching for improved triboelectrification. Coupled with the freedom of varying the lateral size and the number of friction interfaces, the new sliding TENG can directly light up hundreds of LEDs, or sustainably power small wearable and portable electronics when integrated with a capacitor through a rectifier. When the new sliding TENG is wrapped around with rubber bands in longitudinal direction, it transforms into a stretchable TENG and is able to harvest energy from tensile motion associated with many human activities.

Automated summary

A new sliding triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been developed, which is easy to fabricate and low cost. It can directly power LEDs, sustainably power small wearable and portable electronics, and harvest energy from tensile motion associated with human activities.