Self powered real time sustainable energy harvesting and sensing using NiCo-Prussian blue analogue–based triboelectric nanogenerator

In response to the growing need for sustainable and autonomous sensing technologies driven by wearable electronics and the internet of things, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have gained attention as promising solutions for self-powered sensors and micro-energy harvesters. In this report a novel tribopositive material based on NiCo-Prussian blue analogue (NiCo-PBA), as tribopositive layer in a TENG device (NCP-TENG) against a PTFE tribonegative counterpart. The NCP-TENG delivers an impressive power density of 341.67 mW/m², demonstrating its potential as a self-sustainableelectrical energy source for powering microelectronic devices such as calculator, stop-watch and LEDs. To gain insights into the charge transfer mechanism, calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) were carried out, showing that the Co site in the NiCo-PBA possesses a stronger tribopositive nature than Ni site, thereby enabling more effective charge transfer to PTFE. Additionally, more charge accumulation was notably observed at the carbon site of PTFE, further corroborating the charge flow direction from PBA to PTFE. The multifunctional capability of NCP-TENG was further demonstrated through its use as a by its application as a self-powered sensor for detecting acetaminophen, deliveringa high sensitivity of 6.09 nAμM⁻¹ cm⁻² and remarkable limit of detection of 0.197 μM.