Triboelectric performances of self-powered, ultra-flexible and large-area poly(dimethylsiloxane)/Ag-coated chinlon composites with a sandpaper-assisted surface microstructure

Apart from the rapid development in macroscale green energies, such as wind energy and hydro energy, micro/nanoscale self-powered energy systems are increasingly attractive in wearable energy systems. To utilize the energy harvester more conveniently and effectively, an energy harvester, viz., single-electrode textile-based triboelectric nanogenerator (ST-TENG), is reported in this study. The ST-TENG is a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Ag-coated chinlon fabric (PACF) composite film with the surface microstructures induced by sandpapers. The PACF composite is self-powered based on the triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. The merits of ST-TENG include: (1) all the basic materials are flexible and scalable; (2) the resultant PACF is a free-standing composite film, which can be easily peeled off from the sandpaper substrate; (3) an extremely low-cost method was first introduced to fabricate the surface microstructures in flexible triboelectric nanogenerator though sandpapers; and (4) the as-fabricated PACF composite film can directly harvest energy though squeezing, warping and folding. Experimental results demonstrate that the ST-TENG can generate an average maximum output voltage of 46.52 V and a high-power density of 613 mW m−2 at the external resistance of 20 MΩ. Additionally, the ST-TENG can also be utilized to detect the variation of contact area, frequency and force.