Long-life diamond-based tribovoltaic nanogenerator

The semiconductor direct-current tribovoltaic nanogenerator (SDC-TVNG) is promising for developing a new semiconductor energy technology. However, dynamic metal–semiconductor Schottky contact interfaces suffer from wear which affects their working lifetime and limits their practical applications. Here, the SDC-TVNG built with a diamond without wear for ultralong life is reported. The triboelectrification and tribological characteristics of the diamond-based direct-current tribovoltaic nanogenerator (DDC-TVNG) are systematically studied with a ball-on-flat configuration. The DDC-TVNG maintains high triboelectric output after 345,600 reciprocating cycles without wear under the contact pressure of 2.0 GPa, which is far more than that of the silicon-based DC-TVNG. An increased normal load and sliding frequency enhance the triboelectric output. The extremely high hardness and anti-wear ability of the diamond is the key to the long lifetime performance. This work extends the investigation of semiconductor tribovoltaic nanogenerator and contributes to a deeper understanding of the tribovoltaic effect.