Dual-electric-polarity augmented cyanoethyl cellulose-based triboelectric nanogenerator with ultra-high triboelectric charge density and enhanced electrical output property at high humidity

Moisture in environment can severely decrease the output of the solid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) which usually hinders their further practical applications. To solve this problem, we report a modified cellulose material that achieves enhanced electrical output property at high humidity by acquiring universal dual-electric-polarity augmented property. This material shows enhanced contact electrification performance when contacted with different electrode materials. Results show that the electrical output of the TENG composed of cyanoethyl cellulose (CE-cellulose) with poly tetra fluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon 11 (PA 11) increased by 4 and 8 times. Moreover, the triboelectric charge density (TECD) of CE-cellulose-PTFE based TENG at 95%RH is 533 μC/m2, which is a new record for the electrical output of TENG in high humidity environment. This work opens new avenues to the development of TENGs for energy harvesting and self-powered sensors under the real working conditions, especially in high humidity environments, even in the presence of water droplets.