A MWCNT–PVDF/PCL Piezo‐Triboelectric Coupled Nanogenerator by Synergistic Regulation of Microcrystalline Phase and Patterned Structure for Self‐Powered Sensors

ABSTRACT Self‐powered sensor based on nanogenerator provides a potential strategy for addressing the power concern of intelligent sensor. However, the low output of piezo‐triboelectric coupled nanogenerator (PTCNG) severely hinders its applications in self‐powered sensor. To manage this issue, a novel PTCNG with synergistic regulation of microcrystalline phases and patterned structures was developed, which is composed of the multi‐wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)‐polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane prepared by solution electrospinning and the polycaprolactone (PCL) membrane with patterned structures manufactured by melt‐electrospinning direct writing. To establish the synergistic effects on the PTCNG output, four different assembled modes of PTCNG were constructed. In comparison to the PTCNG assembled with PVDF/PCL and MWCNT–PVDF/PCL with irregular structures, the obtained PTCNG demonstrates a significantly enhanced output performance with four times and 5.2 times higher. Specifically, the PTCNG exhibits a stable open‐circuit voltage (260 V) and contact response time (40 ms) and recovery response time (10 ms) after 75 min of continuous operations at a 4 Hz frequency (over 18 000 loading–unloading cycles). Additionally, this PTCNG can charge a 3.3µF capacitor to a voltage of around 29 V within 120 s, power 104 series‐connected LEDs, etc., suggesting a promising potential in self‐powered sensor.