Textile-based freestanding triboelectric-layer nanogenerator with alternate positive and negative grating structure

Abstract

This paper reports a novel design of textile-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with alternate grated strips of positive and negative triboelectric material operating in freestanding triboelectric-layer mode (pnG-TENG). Whereas most grating-structured TENGs operating in a freestanding triboelectric-layer mode comprise gratings of one type of triboelectric material separated by air gaps, this design presents a replacement of the air gaps by another triboelectric material with the opposite polarity to the existing triboelectric material. The pnG-TENG with 10 gratings of PTFE and nylon fabric delivers an open-circuit voltage of 250 V, a short-circuit current of 5.94 μA and a maximum peak power of 600 μW at a load resistance of ueoμ and a mechanical oscillation of 2 Hz. This corresponds to a maximum power density of 186 mW/m2, which is 1.73 and 2.20 times greater than the power generated by the TENG with single triboelectric material and the TENG with no grating, respectively.