Large and Tunable Ranking Shift in Triboelectric Series of Polymers by Introducing Phthalazinone Moieties

Small Methods. 2023 Jun;7(6):e2201593. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202201593. Epub 2023 Mar 9.

Abstract

Regulating the ranking of polymer in triboelectric series over a wide range is of great help for material's selection of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Herein, fluorinated poly(phthalazinone ether)s (FPPEs) with tunable molecular structure and aggregate structure are synthesized by co-polycondensation, while the large positive ranking shift in the triboelectric series can be achieved by introducing phthalazinone moieties with strong electron donating capability. FPPE-5, which includes abundant phthalazinone moieties, is more positive than all of the previously reported triboelectric polymers. Hence, the regulating range of FPPEs in this work updates a new record in triboelectric series, which is wider than that of previous works. A peculiar crystallization behavior, capable of trapping and storing more electrons, has been observed in FPPE-2 with 25% phthalazinone moieties. Correspondingly, FPPE-2 is more negative than FPPE-1 without a phthalazinone moiety, which is an unexpected shift against the common changing tendency in triboelectric series. With FPPEs films as the probing material, a tactile TENG sensor is applied to enable material identification via electrical signal polarity. Hence, this study demonstrates a strategy to regulate the series of triboelectric polymers by copolymerization using monomers with distinct electrification capabilities, where both the monomer ratio and the peculiar nonlinear behavior can control triboelectric performance.

Keywords: crystallization; fluorinated poly(phthalazinone ether)s; material identification; phthalazinone moieties; triboelectric series.