Nanofiber-based triboelectric nanogenerator integrated with supercapacitor using power processing circuit for energy harvesting applications
摘要
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have become a promising technology for capturing mechanical energy from diverse sources, including human movement, vibrations, and environmental forces. This study presents the fabrication and testing of a highly flexible contact-separation mode TENG based on PVA/rGO electropositive layer in combination with PTFE electronegative layer. PVA/rGO nanofibers were electrospun with diameters ranging from 217 to 268 nm. This study shows that nanofibers of polymer/rGO composites enhance triboelectrification by increasing surface polarity and providing abundant active sites for charge transfer through rGO’s defect-rich structure. The performance of the fabricated TENG is evaluated under resistive and capacitive loadings. The results demonstrate that the TENG can generate a peak voltage of 728 V and a maximum power density of 2.25 W/m2. The device is capable of delivering a short circuit current of up to 22 μA. To validate the performance of TENG in practical applications, the device is also tested to power up electronic devices and sensors using a multistage passive power processing unit, which successfully converts the raw electrical output of TENG into useable form. 73% of power conversion efficiency is achieved while transferring power from TENG to loads. Moreover, to address the intermittent nature of TENG output, it is integrated with an in-house fabricated supercapacitor, demonstrating the system’s potential for developing self-powered energy solutions. This combination enables a unified and continuous power supply for portable electronic devices. Hence, this research not only presents the fabrication and evaluation of nanofiber-based nanogenerators but also highlights their power processing and utilization in real-time applications.