Triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs)based on conjunctive effects of contact electrification(CE)and electrostatic induction are emerging as a new mechanical energy harvesting and sensing technique for promising applicat...Triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs)based on conjunctive effects of contact electrification(CE)and electrostatic induction are emerging as a new mechanical energy harvesting and sensing technique for promising applications in smart wearables,Internet of Things(IoTs),etc.The surface microstructure of a flexible triboelectric material for the increase of surface area is a common strategy for performance enhancement of TENGs,but the real roles of surface microstructures on their output performance are still not explicit due to the lack of suitable analysis tool and rational experimental design.Taking advantages of the surface-sensitive characteristic of CE effect,this work exploited and developed the electric signal patterns generated by single impact of TENGs as a kind of CE spectrum to analyze and speculate the real roles of surface microstructures of flexible triboelectric materials on the output performance of TENGs.Firstly,four different kinds of surface microstructures,namely planar surface(PS)and three combinations of two basic surface microstructures,i.e.,micro lens arrays(MLAs),fabric textures(FTs),and hierarchical structures of MLAs on FTs(MLA/FTs),were elaborately designed and introduced for an identical triboelectric material(i.e.,silicone elastomer)by a(micro)molding synthesis route.Then they were used for assembly of TENGs based on vertical contact mode to conduct performance evaluation under the same triggering conditions.Through systematic analysis and comparison of their highly repeatable CE spectra by programmed machine,it was found that the surface microstructure for a flexible triboelectric material to maximally enhance the output performance of a TENG shall achieve a positive synergistic effect of increasing triboelectric charge density,effective contact area and contacting/separating velocity,rather than simple increase of its surface area.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52103278).
文摘Triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs)based on conjunctive effects of contact electrification(CE)and electrostatic induction are emerging as a new mechanical energy harvesting and sensing technique for promising applications in smart wearables,Internet of Things(IoTs),etc.The surface microstructure of a flexible triboelectric material for the increase of surface area is a common strategy for performance enhancement of TENGs,but the real roles of surface microstructures on their output performance are still not explicit due to the lack of suitable analysis tool and rational experimental design.Taking advantages of the surface-sensitive characteristic of CE effect,this work exploited and developed the electric signal patterns generated by single impact of TENGs as a kind of CE spectrum to analyze and speculate the real roles of surface microstructures of flexible triboelectric materials on the output performance of TENGs.Firstly,four different kinds of surface microstructures,namely planar surface(PS)and three combinations of two basic surface microstructures,i.e.,micro lens arrays(MLAs),fabric textures(FTs),and hierarchical structures of MLAs on FTs(MLA/FTs),were elaborately designed and introduced for an identical triboelectric material(i.e.,silicone elastomer)by a(micro)molding synthesis route.Then they were used for assembly of TENGs based on vertical contact mode to conduct performance evaluation under the same triggering conditions.Through systematic analysis and comparison of their highly repeatable CE spectra by programmed machine,it was found that the surface microstructure for a flexible triboelectric material to maximally enhance the output performance of a TENG shall achieve a positive synergistic effect of increasing triboelectric charge density,effective contact area and contacting/separating velocity,rather than simple increase of its surface area.
