Waste-To-Energy: Sustainable Triboelectric Stimulating System Constructed by Bone Gelatin Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Crop Growth

Abstract

The misuse of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers harms the environment and human health. Abandoning them risks global food shortages. Urgent eco-friendly alternatives are needed for food production without excessive synthetic chemicals. To respond to this challenge, an innovative approach uses POSS polymer (PA) to modify waste bone gelatin (BG), constructinging a biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator (PAG-TENG) tailored for the triboelectric stimulating system for seed germination (PTSS). Amide groups of PA improve the electron supplying capacity of BG and 3D cage structure captures and transfers charges of BG, thereby improving the output performance of PAG-TENG. The spatial electrostatic field formed by PAG-TENG promotes seed germination when subjected to pressure changes in the environment. Hence output performance of PAG-TENG is improved from 52.34 V and 40.25 nA to 247.15 V and 482.12 nA, the sensitivity is 14.4957 V*kPa⁻¹. It maintains initial stable performance after the 6000 cycles of testing. Besides, the prepared PAG-TENG has good toughness, translucency, and degradability. Treated by the high voltage electrostatic field of PTSS, peas' germination rate remarkably increased by ≈27%. This work realizes the high-value utilization of waste resource BG, and provides a novel direction for the development of intelligent agriculture.