Improvement of Output Performance of the TENG Based on PVDF by Doping Tourmaline

This work introduces a novel nanomaterial to form microcapacitors for the purpose of accumulating triboelectric charges and enhancing the output properties of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Incorporating tourmaline (TM) into electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers as a tribo-negative layer constructs a new TENG based on PVDF/TM nanofibers. For the prepared TENG with 0.3 wt % TM nanofiller, the power density reaches as high as 107 mW/m2 at the matched 4 MΩ external load, a remarkable 156% improvement over the power density of the pure PVDF nanogenerator; at the same time, the open-circuit voltage can reach 267 V. PVDF/TM nanofibers increase the output performance of the TENG by 2.1 times. By tapping the TENG gently with a human finger, it can directly light 13 LEDs and the TENG successfully powers an electronic watch by harvesting energy. In the fibers, the PVDF polymer chains form a cooperative and mutual alignment with the TM owing to electrospinning, facilitating the highly polar crystalline β-phase formation of PVDF. In addition, the addition of TM nanofillers enhances the mechanical stability as well as mechanical properties of PVDF nanofiber films. The high-performance TENG possesses high application potential in the rapidly developing society to be a self-powered system to provide efficient and renewable energy for portable electronic devices.