Issue 12, 2023

Contact efficiency optimization for tribovoltaic nanogenerators

Abstract

Energy harvesters based on the tribovoltaic effect that can convert mechanical energy into electricity offer a potential solution for the energy supply of decentralized sensors. However, a substantial disparity in output current, exceeding 106 times, exists between micro- and macro-contact tribovoltaic nanogenerators (TVNGs). To tackle this challenge, we develop a quantification method to determine the effective contact efficiency of conventional large-scale TVNGs, revealing a mere 0.038% for a TVNG of 1 cm2. Thus, we implement an optimization strategy by contact interface design resulting in a remarkable 65-fold increase in effective contact efficiency, reaching 2.45%. This enhancement leads to a current density of 23 A m−2 and a record-high charge density of 660 mC m−2 for the TVNG based on Cu and p-type silicon. Our study reveals that increasing the effective contact efficiency will not only address the existing disparities but also have the potential to significantly enhance the output current in future advancements of large-scale TVNGs.

Graphical abstract: Contact efficiency optimization for tribovoltaic nanogenerators

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
29 ago. 2023
Accepted
19 oct. 2023
First published
19 oct. 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 5962-5968

Contact efficiency optimization for tribovoltaic nanogenerators

Z. Zhao, J. Zhang, W. Qiao, L. Zhou, Z. Guo, X. Li, Z. L. Wang and J. Wang, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 5962 DOI: 10.1039/D3MH01369C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements