Enhanced Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on MoS₂ Monolayer Nanocomposites Acting as Electron-Acceptor Layers

As one of their major goals, researchers attempting to harvest mechanical energy efficiently have continuously sought ways to integrate mature technologies with cutting-edge designs to enhance the performances of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). In this research, we introduced monolayer molybdenum-disulfide (MoS 2 ) into the friction layer of a TENG as the triboelectric electron-acceptor layer in an attempt to dramatically enhance its output performance. As a proof of the concept, we fabricated a vertical contact-separation mode TENG containing monolayer MoS 2 as an electron-acceptor layer and found that the TENG exhibited a peak power density as large as 25.7 W/m 2, which is 120 times larger than that of the device without monolayer MoS 2 . The mechanisms behind the performance enhancement, which are related to the highly efficient capture of triboelectric electrons in monolayer MoS 2, are discussed in detail. This study indicates that monolayer MoS 2 can be used as a functional material for efficient energy harvesting.