Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a new technology for converting ambient mechanical energy into electrical energy that has pulled interest as a potential approach to address the energy and environmental crises as well as the needs of developing new electronics. However, the yield of TENG during the mechanical energy scavenging process is not high enough, which is an obstacle to establishing this advantageous technology on industrial level.

In this thesis, we illustrated two strategies in terms of metal-oxide based bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) as frictional layer coupled with a polymer-based counter layer for addressing the poor output current density of TENG. Firstly, the effective contact surface area is enlarged through morphological and chemical modification of BiVO₄. for improved...[ Read more ]

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a new technology for converting ambient mechanical energy into electrical energy that has pulled interest as a potential approach to address the energy and environmental crises as well as the needs of developing new electronics. However, the yield of TENG during the mechanical energy scavenging process is not high enough, which is an obstacle to establishing this advantageous technology on industrial level.

In this thesis, we illustrated two strategies in terms of metal-oxide based bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) as frictional layer coupled with a polymer-based counter layer for addressing the poor output current density of TENG. Firstly, the effective contact surface area is enlarged through morphological and chemical modification of BiVO₄. for improved charge generation and charge trapping phenomena. Secondly, we leveraged photoactivity of BiVO₄ to design a hybrid-TENG for harvesting mechanical and solar energies simultaneously, which increased the output by several orders. The proposed work commenced with a study of the nucleation mechanism for the synthesis of BiVO₄ thin films. It was found that a rapid annealing approach with precise rate of increasing temperature introduced a beneficial population of oxygen vacancies as shallow charge donor species. Moreover, the morphological modification and particle size variation increased the significant contact surface area for an improved frictional charge transfer.

Owing to the distinct reaction mechanisms controlled via annealing parameters, the photocatalytic activity of BiVO₄ was considerably influenced which as a result proffered this metal oxide as a dual functional layer for hybrid-TENG. Illuminating the BiVO₄, with simulated solar light source, the output voltage and current increased from 30 V and 3.3 μAcm-2 to 67 V and 6.5 μAcm-2, respectively. The photoactive charges escalated the charge generation phenomenon hereby producing an increased output current density. This study put forward a semiconductor-polymer combination with feasible abstractions to facilitate the development of prospective hybrid energy harvesting with improved yield, sustainability, and robustness.