Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on ZnO Nanosheet Networks for Mechanical Energy Harvesting

A simple and inexpensive method is presented for fabricating triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) from ZnO nanosheets. The ZnO nanosheets are grown on aluminium substrate using hot plate assisted hydrothermal method. The ZnO nanosheets film and ITO surface are triboelectric layers in the TENG. The open-circuit output voltage of ~ 2 V and instantaneous power ~ 4.15 μW are generated from the fabricated TENG. Subsequently, TENG can power one Light Emitting Diode (LED) without utilizing any storage element. Therefore, the reported TENG has possible uses in portable electronic devices and sensors.