High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on Carbon Nanotube-Functionalized Supramolecular Polyrotaxane Composites

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted tremendous interest due to high energy efficiency, simple architecture, and wide applicability. Seeking triboelectric materials with high performance is an eternal pursuit because of higher requirements for their exploration, which is driven by the rapid development of sustainable energy. Herein, we designed supramolecular polyrotaxane (PR)-based composites composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), polyethylene glycol (PEG), α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), and poly(ethylene oxide) as a triboelectric material. Interestingly, the interlocked nature of PEG@α-CD PR, known as a "dynamic molecular pulley", is exploited to provide abundant hydrogen bonds and ensure the uniform dispersion of CNTs. The PR-based composite film with 0.5 wt % CNTs displays a considerable power density of 385 mW m–2 at a loading resistance of 20 MΩ. This study demonstrates an effective method to utilize the coupling effect of the CNT filler and the supramolecular PR structure to boost the output performance of TENGs.