CONTACT AND SEPARATION OF KAPTON AND POLYMETHYLMETHACRYLATE TRIBOELECTRIC NANOGENERATOR

Triboelectric nanogenerators are devices that utilize the triboelectric effect in order to generate electrical current. Recently, they have become very popular in many applications. The most important are self-powered sensors and energy harvesting. They can be made in two varieties, contact-and-separation mode as well as sliding mode triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Two of the best pair of materials that can be used are Kapton and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) since they are at opposite sides of the triboelectric series. Usually, the entire side of a TENG is covered with a dielectric electrode terminal. This study investigates the optimal design of a Kapton side in a Kapton/PMMA contact and separation mode triboelectric nanogenerator. It was found that using two Kapton-electrode terminals that are separated by a distance achieved better values for both open-circuit voltage and closed-circuit current in this particular setup. This is due to the self-correcting mechanism that is inherent in this setup that improves the contact between the two sides of the triboelectric nanogenerator. This design is also more material efficient and is thus recommended for use in contact and separation mode triboelectric nanogenerators.