High performance polydimethylsiloxane elastomer for triboelectric nanogenerators in extreme environment

[Display omitted] •A novel PDMS elastomer was used to fabricate the TENG for the first time.•The novel elastomer exhibited excellent mechanical properties and fire-resistance.•The resultant TENG could maintain stable in the extreme environments.•The application in the fire environment was indicated. Safety is a great challenge in the fields of electronics, especially in the harsh environments. Triboelectric nanogenerators would provide an efficient way to harvest mechanical energy from environment and convert them into electrical energy. However, most conventional polymeric materials for TENGs are easily flammable in the fire condition and would intenerate under high temperature. All these properties greatly affect the application of TENG. Herein, a novel polydimethylsiloxane elastomer with conjugated benzene ring is proposed to fabricate the heat- and fire-resistant TENG for the first time. The existence of conjugated benzene ring guarantees the polydimethylsiloxane elastomer with excellent mechanical properties, outstanding anti-dripping, superior thermal stability and fire-resistance. The resultant TENG exhibits excellent electrical performance which is originated from the existence of Si-benzene group and high dielectric constant (3.9). And it could maintain 100 % and 80 % output voltage in the high temperature (300 °C) and high tensile strain (200 %). What’s more, the output voltage of the obtained TENG remains almost unchanged after 60 s combustion. Consequently, this work will offer a novel strategy for tailoring the TENGs toward a secure power generator and electronics with fire hazard reduction, and potential application in firefighting and extreme temperature environments.