Two-dimensional cobalt telluride as a piezo-tribogenerator

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been shown to be efficient in energy harvesting. Here, we report the use of waste heat to generate electricity via the combined piezoelectric and triboelectric properties of 2D cobalt telluride (CoTe2). The piezo-triboelectric nanogenerator (PTNG) produced an open-circuit voltage of similar to 5 V under 1 N force and the effect of temperature in the range of 305-363 K shows a four-fold energy conversion efficiency improvement. The 2D piezo-tribogenerator shows excellent characteristics with a maximum voltage of similar to 10 V, fast response time, and high responsivity. Density functional theory was used to gain further insights and validation of the experimental results. Our results could lead to energy harvesting approaches using 2D materials from various thermal sources and dissipating waste heat from electronic devices.

Automated summary

This study successfully generates electricity using waste heat through the piezoelectric and triboelectric properties of 2D cobalt telluride. The 2D piezo-tribogenerator shows excellent characteristics with high voltage, fast response time, and high responsivity. Density functional theory is used to validate the experimental results.