Flexible Vitrimers for Self-healable Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Despite rapid advancements in the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG), mechanical defects generated during their working condition limit the service lifetime of these devices. Polyester-based vitrimers can offer a solution to solve this issue via their dynamic bond exchange reactions. However, they often require high temperatures and a long time to crosslink, rendering them not useful for large-scale TENG fabrication. To solve these issues, a self-healable vitrimer-based triboelectric nanogenerator (VITENG) is developed based on diacrylate poly(dimethylsiloxane) (AA-PDMS) via a fast thiol-Michael reaction. By including 2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate (DHPMA), hydroxy end dangling side chains are generated in the matrix, which increased the PDMS network's flexibility and transesterification efficiency. Efficient transesterification occurs on the abundant dynamic beta-hydroxy ester bonds in the PDMS network, resulting in 100% efficient mechanical damage repair. The VITENG demonstrates a good performance with an output voltage of 135 V under a load of 10 N, demonstrating the potential for mechanical energy harvesters with long lifetimes and high design flexibility.

Automated summary

To address the mechanical defects that limit the service lifetime of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG), a self-healable vitrimer-based nanogenerator (VITENG) is developed using diacrylate poly(dimethylsiloxane) (AA-PDMS) and a fast thiol-Michael reaction. Through the addition of 2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate (DHPMA), hydroxy end dangling side chains are generated in the PDMS matrix, increasing flexibility and transesterification efficiency. The VITENG demonstrates a good performance with an output voltage of 135 V under a 10 N load, showing potential for mechanical energy harvesters with long lifetimes and high design flexibility.