High-performance triboelectric nanogenerator based on chitin for mechanical-energy harvesting and self-powered sensing

Jipeng Zhang; Yang Hu; Xinghuan Lin; Xinyi Qian; Lina Zhang; Jinping Zhou; Ang Lu

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119586

High-performance triboelectric nanogenerator based on chitin for mechanical-energy harvesting and self-powered sensing

Carbohydr Polym. 2022 Sep 1:291:119586. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119586. Epub 2022 May 7.

Authors

Jipeng Zhang¹, Yang Hu¹, Xinghuan Lin¹, Xinyi Qian¹, Lina Zhang¹, Jinping Zhou², Ang Lu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymer-based Medical Materials, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
² College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymer-based Medical Materials, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address: zhoujp325@whu.edu.cn.
³ College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Hubei Engineering Center of Natural Polymer-based Medical Materials, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address: anglu@whu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35698402
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119586

Abstract

Environment issues and energy crisis call for eco-friendly, biodegradable and low-cost natural materials for the extensive application of distributed energy harvesting triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and multi-functional self-powered sensors. Here, flexible, robust and transparent chitin films fabricated via non-freezing dissolution approach in KOH/urea were used as tribopositive material to assemble TENGs, which served as outstanding mechanical energy harvesters and multi-functional self-powered sensors. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the chitin film reached 84.7 MPa and 14.5%, better than most existing biodegradable-based films. The chitin-based TENG (CF-TENG) achieved open-circuit voltage up to 182.4 V, short-circuit current of 4.8 μA and maximum power density over 1.25 W m^-2. Furthermore, the CF-TENG can be utilized as tactile sensors for handwriting recognition and health monitoring of subtle pressures, as well as non-contact sensation, exhibiting great potential as self-powered sensors and human-machine interfaces.

Keywords: Chitin; Ethanol (≧95%, PubChem CID: 702); Film; Hydrochloric Acid (HCl, GR, PubChem CID: 313); Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2), AR, PubChem CID: 784); Mechanical energy harvesting; Non-freezing dissolution; Potassium hydroxide (KOH, AR, PubChem CID: 14797); Sensor; Sodium hydroxide (NaOH, AR, PubChem CID: 14798); Triboelectric nanogenerator; Urea (AR, PubChem CID: 1176).

MeSH terms

Chitin*
Humans
Nanotechnology*
Pressure

Substances

Chitin