Fabrication of MoS2 Petals-Decorated PAN Fibers-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting and Smart Study Room Touch Sensor Applications

Currently, the development of clean and green energy-harvesting solutions is becoming increasingly critical. Batteries have long been considered as the most traditional and efficient technology for powering electronic devices. However, they have a limited lifetime and require constant observation and replacement. To address this issue, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has garnered considerable attention as a prospective sustainable power source for smart devices. Further, several approaches for improving their output performance have been investigated. Herein, we created a unique TENG based on densely packed molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) petals grown on electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers (MPF) using a hydrothermal technique. Designed MPF-TENG is used for mechanical energy-harvesting and smart study room touch sensor applications. The effects of pure MoS₂ powder, PAN fibers, and MoS₂ grown on the PAN fibers were investigated. MoS₂ addition enhanced the surface charge, surface roughness, and electrical performance. The MPF-TENG had a maximum triboelectric output voltage, current, charge, and average power density of 245.3 V, 5.12 µA, 60.2 nC, and 1.75 W/m², respectively. The MPF-TENG remained stable for more than 10,000 cycles. The MPF-TENG successfully illuminated blue LEDs, turned on a timer clock, and could be used in smart study rooms to generate energy. This study provides an effective method for improving the performance of TENG by growing MoS₂ petals on PAN fibers, with promising applications in power supplies for portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the fabricated MPF-TENG was demonstrated to be a potential touch sensor for smart study rooms to save electricity.

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