Self-poled Ag nanowire/ionic liquid-infused PVDF nanocomposites for enhanced triboelectric performance via additive manufacturing

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) shows significant potential for energy harvesting and sensing by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, making it suitable for self-powered devices, cloud computing, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. This study enhances the performance of a TENG device by incorporating silver nanowires (AgNWs) into ionic liquid-mixed polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) through an additive manufacturing process. The dielectric properties and output performance of TENGs are analysed by varying AgNWs concentrations in ionic liquid-mixed PVDF, serving as the negative tribolayer, while polyamide 6 (PA 6) functions as the positive tribolayer. Results indicate that the optimal addition of 7 % AgNWs achieves a maximum open-circuit voltage of 380 V, a short-circuit current of 25.5 μA, and a power density of 9.5 W/m². Moreover, the addition of an ionic liquid to PVDF enhanced the development of a well-aligned electroactive β-phase and functioned as a conductive pathway, capturing charges from the surface and transferring them into the bulk material. The presence of AgNWs creates charge-trapping sites by acting as a microcapacitor, increasing charge density. Additionally, the additive manufacturing process improves surface roughness and ensures uniform layer deposition, enhancing contact between tribolayer and improving charge transfer efficiency. The findings show that optimizing AgNWs composition and surface microstructure enhances TENG performance, offering promising applications in energy harvesting and self-powered technologies.