Stretchable Porous Carbon Nanotube-Elastomer Hybrid Nanocomposite for Harvesting Mechanical Energy.

A stretchable porous nanocomposite (PNC) is reported based on a hybrid of a multiwalled carbon nanotubes network and a poly(dimethylsiloxane) matrix for harvesting energy from mechanical interactions. The deformation-enabled energy-generating process makes the PNC applicable to various mechanical interactions, including pressing, stretching, bending, and twisting. It can be potentially used as an energy solution for wearable electronics.

Triboelectric-Potential-Regulated Charge Transport Through p-n Junctions for Area-Scalable Conversion of Mechanical Energy.

Regulation of charge-transport direction is realized through the coupling of triboelectrification, electrostatic induction, and semiconducting properties for area-scalable conversion of mechanical energy. The output current from each unit triboelectric generator can always constructively add up due to the unidirectional flow of electrons. This work proposes a practical and general route to area-scalable applications of the triboelectric generator and other energy-harvesting techniques.

Robust thin-film generator based on segmented contact-electrification for harvesting wind energy.

Collecting and converting energy from ambient air flow promise to be a viable approach in developing self-powered autonomous electronics. Here, we report an effective and robust triboelectric generator that consists of an undulating thin-film membrane and an array of segmented fine-sized electrode pairs on a single substrate. Sequential processes of contact electrification and electrostatic induction generate alternating flows of free electrons when the membrane interacts with ambient air flow.

A shape-adaptive thin-film-based approach for 50% high-efficiency energy generation through micro-grating sliding electrification.

Effectively harvesting ambient mechanical energy is the key for realizing self-powered and autonomous electronics, which addresses limitations of batteries and thus has tremendous applications in sensor networks, wireless devices, and wearable/implantable electronics, etc. Here, a thin-film-based micro-grating triboelectric nanogenerator (MG-TENG) is developed for high-efficiency power generation through conversion of mechanical energy. The shape-adaptive MG-TENG relies on sliding electrification between complementary micro-sized arrays of linear grating, which offers a unique and straightforward solution in harnessing energy from relative sliding motion between surfaces.