rGO-Embedded Polymer Nanocomposite Layer for Improved Performance of Triboelectric Nanogenerator

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) working on a contact electrification and electrostatic induction principle is a promising energy source for fulfilling the energy demand of low power electronic devices by converting the ambient mechanical energy to useful electrical energy. Here, a polymer nanocomposite film-based triboelectric nanogenerator has been designed by embedding reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix as one of the friction layers. The PVDF nanocomposite film-based TENG was constructed and examined for structural, electrical, and surface properties with varied weight percentages of rGO nanofillers (0.0 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 1.0 wt%, 1.5 wt%, and 2.0 wt%). The experimental results demonstrate that the addition of rGO in a PVDF matrix considerably increased the output performance of the TENG device. The TENG device with 1.5 wt% of rGO can deliver the maximum output voltage and current of 95.9 V, and 16.8 μA, respectively, which are ~ 3 and ~ 7 times the voltage and current produced by pristine PVDF film-based TENG. The enhanced performance of the nanogenerator is attributed to the addition of conductive nanofillers in the polymer matrix which improves the surface charge density of polymer nanocomposite films by forming a conduction network, resulting in more effective charge transfer. Moreover, the output of the nanogenerator is stored in the capacitor and used to drive commercial LEDs, revealing the TENGs' potential applications for designing self-powered electronic devices.