A size-unlimited surface microstructure modification method for achieving high performance triboelectric nanogenerator

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a promising mechanical energy harvesting device, which has many advantages such as low cost, high efficiency and easy fabrication. Surface modification on tribo-surface has been proved to be an efficient way to improve the output performance of TENG. However, the existing methods are time-consuming, high-cost and difficult for large-area processing, which, to some extent, limited the industrial production of TENG technology. In this work, we demonstrated a simple, fast and low-cost method, in which the tribo-surfaces of TENG were processed without size limitations to improve its output performance. Through this method, a large-scale treated TENG can be easily achieved and its output voltage and power can be increased by a factor of 3 and 5, respectively, providing us a size unlimited, low-cost and time-saving surface micro-structure modification method for improving the output of TENG. This work showed great chance for industrial fabrication of TENG, which was crucial for sustainable power supply in the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.