Green Energy Harvesting using a Flexible Bio-triboelectric Nanogenerator
摘要
Bio-triboelectric nanogenerators (B-TENGs) show promise as a sustainable and renewable source for harvesting green energy using natural biocompatible and biodegradable substrates. Dry leaves contribute to a large amount of waste accumulation daily, even though they can be used to generate energy. Almost all the dry leaves collected during cleaning procedures are burned, resulting in greenhouse emissions and air pollution. This work aims to consider using biodegradable fresh and dry leaves as a bio-source for a cost-effective, sustainable, and flexible energy-harvesting system. When different frequencies and pressures were applied to B-TENGs, significant potential power output of around ~30 V and ~350 μW was produced. The experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculations support the charge transport phenomenon in dry-leaf powder under different compressive strains. A surface influences charge generation in B-TENGs and the presence of functional groups with inhomogeneous particle distribution, as demonstrated by experimental and mathematical modeling. The current work is ideal for large-scale manufacturing since it uses natural waste materials in dried forms, as well as simple and low-cost preparation. Therefore, our environmentally friendly solutions highlight the special abilities of plants to produce electricity for various flexible electronic applications.
Graphical Abstract