High-power triboelectric nanogenerators by using in-situ carbon dispersion method for energy harvesting and self-powered wireless control

In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), various wearable electronic devices and sensors are widely used in the production and life of society. Due to its energy conversion characteristics, the flexible triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) can not only act as a sensor device, but also solve energy supply problems. Here, a high-performance TiO2/carbon (TC) nanostructures-based TENG is proposed for the first time. Unlike the carbon-based conductive materials introduced by blending, the carbon in this work is embedded in TiO2 in situ by a simple solvothermal and heat treatment method, which has excellent dispersibility and stability. After introducing TC hybrid particles into PDMS, the electron affinity, dielectric constant, and surface roughness of the composite film have been significantly improved, which makes the TC-TENG exhibit an excellent power density (75.2 W/m2). In applications, the TC-PDMS composites TENGs can effectively harvest energy from human motions, and power electronic devices (LED lights, calculators and thermo-hygrometers). Importantly, a 6-bit array (2 ×3) digital touch board based on the TC-TENG is constructed for self-powered wireless control, which can control electronics products up to 10 m away. Our work gives a compelling way for the energy harvest and self-powered wireless control of electronic devices. [Display omitted] •An in-situ carbon dispersion strategy is proposed for highly efficient TENGs.•The TiO2/carbon nanostructures-based TENG exhibit excellent output power.•The enhancement mechanism of TENG is analyzed experimentally and theoretically.•A self-powered wireless control system was built to control electronic devices.