Developing Triboelectric Materials for High-Performance Generators

Triboelectric generators are the most promising mechanical to electrical energy converters at a small scale because they can extract energy from a huge range of mechanical sources: from motion, ambient vibrations, noise, and even from water droplets. However, their performance is limited due to low surface charge density and output power.<br/>Herein, we will describe various approaches for increasing the triboelectric surface charge density. These will include MM ordering [1], functionalization [2], controlling interfacial strain [3], and exploiting volumetric dipoles [4,5]. We will show enhancement from controlled net surface charge polarity, intensified organo-ion transfer, and the complementary induction from triboelectric or piezoelectric dipoles in volume. We will look at the perspective of combining these approaches for providing generators with high performance up to 50 W/m².<br/><br/>References<br/>[1] Šutka et al., <i>Adv. Mater. Technol.</i> <b>2022</b>, 2200162<br/>[2] Germane et al., <i>Mater. Adv.</i> <b>2023</b>, 4, 875-880<br/>[3] Verners et al., <i>Nano Energy</i> <b>2022</b>, 104, 107914<br/>[4] Linarts et al., <i>Small</i> <b>2023</b>, 2205563<br/>[5] Šutka et al., <i>ACS Applied Energy Materials</i> <b>2023</b>, <i>6</i>, 9300-9306