Extreme environment-resistant high performance triboelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting and self-powered positioning system

Abstract

Ensuring the effectiveness of triboelectric devices under extreme environmental temperatures is essential for the global implementation of TENG-driven self-powered electronics in various regions worldwide, but achieving this is substantial challenging. In this work, a thermally stable and flexible PVDF-HFP/SEBS (PH_SS_O) composite membrane doped with stearic acid (SA) and octanoic acid (OA) is constructed by the method of electrostatic spraying-assisted electrospinning. Compared with the original PHS membrane, the PH_SS_O membrane not only exhibits enhanced triboelectric output (V_oc, I_sc, and Q_sc increased by 61.48 %, 77.11 %, and 46.16 % respectively), but also maintains a relatively stable triboelectric output from room temperature to a high-temperature environment of 60°C, highlighting its remarkable reliability and stable power supply capability. Furthermore, the fabricated PH_S1.5S_O1.5 triboelectric membrane exhibits outstanding hydrophobicity, flexibility, stretchability, and cyclic stability. These qualities render PH_S1.5S_O1.5 based TENG to be an appealing self-powered positioning device, offering critical data such as time and location to adventurers and scientists operating in extreme Earth environments, thereby ensuring their safety. In summary, this study has developed a triboelectronegative fibrous membrane materials with excellent overall performance, which to some extent ensures the effective operation of TENG-driven self-powered devices in extreme temperature environments, providing good feasibility and successful case for applications in energy harvesting and human-machine interaction fields under harsh environments.