MoS₂-Integrated Polymer Nanocomposite Fibers for Triboelectric Generation via Thermal Drawing Technique

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are green energy-generating devices that convert biomechanical energy into usable electrical energy by combining contact electrification and electrostatic induction phenomena. Recently, TENG devices have attracted significant interest due to their ability to be employed as self-powered smart sensing devices in biomedical applications. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers are attractive materials for flexible TENGs due to the presence of highly electronegative fluorine ions and high dielectric constant. Adding MoS₂ with PVDF is an efficient way to improve the triboelectric property of the composite fiber. The positively charged -CH₂ dipoles of PDVF can strongly interact with negatively charged MoS₂ layers, significantly enhancing the PVDF's ferroelectric properties. This study presents the scalable fabrication of MoS₂-embedded PVDF flexible nanocomposite triboelectric fibers at varying concentrations (1-5 wt%) via thermal drawing. The incorporation of MoS₂ into PVDF promoted the electroactive phase transition in triboelectric fibers. The β phase percentage of 3% MoS₂- PVDF fiber increased to 48%, which was 32.5% for pristine PVDF fiber. The phase transition in PVDF resulted in improved triboelectric output. The single fiber peak power output for 3% MoS₂ - PVDF fiber was measured as 17µW. Utilizing the flexible nature of the fiber, we integrated it as a wearable device for human respiration monitoring applications. The insights gained from this study will significantly contribute to our understanding of transition metal dichalcogenide-integrated fibers toward the scalable fabrication of high-performance textiles.