Nature-replicated nano-in-micro structures for triboelectric energy harvesting

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators with nature-replicated interface structures are presented. Effective contact areas of the triboelectric surfaces are largely enhanced because of the densely packed nano-in-micro hierarchical structures in nature. The enlarged contact area causes stronger triboelectric charge density, which results in output power increment. The interface engineering also allows the improved humidity resistance, which is an important parameter for the stable energy harvesting.

Keywords: contact electrification; energy harvesting; hierarchical structure; soft-lithography; triboelectric nanogenerators.