Painting a high-output triboelectric nanogenerator on paper for harvesting energy from human body motion

Paper-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) represent an affordable, green, and eco-friendly energy harvesting methodology. In this work, we propose a novel X-shaped paper TENG (XP-TENG) formed from a ballpoint ink layer coated by painting with a commercial brush pen. The paper and Teflon tape serve as the triboelectric pairs, with the paper serving as the supporting component. Moreover, the XP-TENG is capable of providing two working patterns that can yield an expanded scope of practical applications. A stacked XP-TENG was proposed for increasing the output performance and harvesting the mechanical energy generated by motion of the human body. This staked XP-TENG can directly light up 101 blue high-power LEDs with working voltage of 3.4 V. The fabricated XP-TENG can be used for harvesting mechanical energy from human walking.