3D printed triboelectric nanogenerator for underwater ultrasonic sensing

Bartłomiej Nowacki; Krystian Mistewicz; Sugato Hajra; Hoe Joon Kim

doi:10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107045

3D printed triboelectric nanogenerator for underwater ultrasonic sensing

Ultrasonics. 2023 Aug:133:107045. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107045. Epub 2023 May 18.

Authors

Bartłomiej Nowacki¹, Krystian Mistewicz², Sugato Hajra³, Hoe Joon Kim³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Informatics, Faculty of Materials Science, Joint Doctorate School, Silesian University of Technology, Krasinskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland.
² Institute of Physics - Center for Science and Education, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland. Electronic address: krystian.mistewicz@polsl.pl.
³ Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 37210767
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.107045

Abstract

The underwater ultrasound power measurement has become necessary due to the rapid development of sonochemistry and sonocatalysis. This article presents construction of novel triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and its application for a detection of ultrasonic waves in water. The device was 3D printed using widely available and cost-effective materials. TENG consisted of the device housing and movable polymer pellets confined between flat electrodes. The device housing and pellets were 3D printed via stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modelling (FDM) methods, respectively. The pellets moved periodically driven by the ultrasonic waves leading to generation of an alternating voltage signal. The electric response of TENG was calibrated using a commercially available ultrasonic power sensor. The open-circuit voltage output of TENG was registered in different sections of the ultrasonic bath in order to determine the distribution of the acoustic power. TENG electric responses were analyzed by applying the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and fitting the theoretical dependence to experimental data. The main peaks in the frequency spectra of the voltage waveforms corresponded to the fundamental excitation frequency of the ultrasonic bath. TENG device, presented in this paper, can be successfully applied as a self-powered sensor for detection of ultrasonic waves. It enables precise control of the sonochemical process and reduction of power losses of the ultrasonic reactor. 3D printing technology has been confirmed to be fast, easy, and scalable method of fabrication of the ultrasonic sensors.

Keywords: Acoustic power; Nanogenerator; Self-powered sensor; Triboelectric effect; Ultrasounds.