Silk Fibroin-Carbon Nanotube Composites based Fiber\nSubstrated Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Abstract

The\ntriboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an emerging technology\nthat can convert mechanical energy generated by human motion into\nelectricity, and it is expected to compensate batteries for driving\nwearable electronics. However, in the field of wearable TENGs, low\ncost and common wearable raw material, which is critical for daily\nuse, cannot generate still higher output power as wearable TENG source.\nIn this study, we developed a flexible fiber-substrated TENG (F-TENG)\ndevice based on silk and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using electrospinning\nand electrospray. The F-TENG has a unique layered microstructure,\nwhich can provide a highly free wearing experience and usable output,\nwhile satisfying the requirements of being simple, durable, and flexible.\nThe fabrication process subverts the conventional method of processing\nmetal wires into fibers and weaving them into textiles at a later\nstage by converting a liquid solution to a thin film made of fibers.\nThe two steps of electrospinning and electrospray can be conducted\nby using the same setup of equipment, under ambient conditions. The\npower generation capacity of the arch-shaped F-TENG reached 140.99\nμW/cm² with shaker patting and 317.4 μW/cm² with hand patting. A series of wearing tests also showed\nhigh potential of its applications. Its tensile property was also\nproved to be able to meet the normal wearing requirements of daily\nlife. The combination of silk and CNT, as well as the development\nof the processing methods, are able to lay a reliable foundation for\nthe wearable TENGs to break through many current development bottlenecks.