Enhancing triboelectric nanogenerator performance using chitosan-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes†

Abstract

The rising demand for a sustainable and immaculate energy source on a global scale is fascinating regarding the usage and potential effects of green energy. Triboelectric nanogenerators have emerged as some of the major green energy sources, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy by using different electropositive and tribonegative materials. We used surface-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes incorporated with a chitosan membrane as a tribopositive material in triboelectric nanogenerators for improved efficiency. We demonstrate that the chitosan-modified multiwalled carbon nanotube-based tribopositive material with PDMS as the tribonegative layer with a constant device size of 2 × 2 cm² produced a short circuit current density (J_sc) of 42.004 mA m⁻², an open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 244.90 volts, and a peak power density of 4.22 W m⁻², which can light up more than hundreds of LED lights. The high electrical performance of chitosan-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a tribopositive material is attributed to the increased surface roughness and charge separation without causing significant charge leakage, which is produced by carbon nanotubes. Henceforth, the present work successfully introduces the use of chitosan-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a tribopositive material for enhancing the TENG's output performance.