New Coating TENG with Antiwear and Healing Functions for Energy Harvesting

In view of the limitations of practical applications of current triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), a new type of coating TENGs with antiwear and healing properties have been fabricated to collect the large-scale dissipative energy in the environment. To enhance the triboelectrification performance of the coating TENG, mesoporous silica filled with perfluorooctylethanol is added to the acrylate resin material, in addition to improving the antiwear properties of the frictional coating. The result shows that when the mesoporous silica is used as a carrier and perfluorooctylethanol is loaded, the short-circuit current (Isc) and output voltage (Vo) of the coating TENG reach as high as 10 μA and 220 V, respectively, which are 4-5 times higher than those of pure acrylate. More importantly, the coefficient of friction of the new coating decreases from 0.11 to 0.04 with the wear volume reducing by approximately 89%, indicating a better friction-reducing property of the coating for long-term working. As a new coating material based on the traditional acrylic resin, it can be widely sprayed onto various walls, metals, and hulls as protection coating as well as power-generation coating. Interestingly, when the coating is damaged due to long-term aging or external mechanical forces, it can restore its triboelectric performance by encapsulating the repair agent within the pore structure of silica. Owing to the large-area fabrication, low cost, high output performance, and antiwear properties, the new coating TENGs have promising potential for practical applications in energy-harvesting, self-energy supplies, and self-powered sensors.