Square-Structured Nylon/Chitosan Oligosaccharide-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Omnidirectional Low-Frequency Energy Harvesting
Jiayu Su, Yijun Hao, Xiaopeng Zhu, Xiangqian Lu, Keke Hong, Zhao Guo, Yong Qin, Wei Su, Dong Yang, Hongke Zhang, Chuguo Zhang, Xiuhan Li
Abstract
Owing to their capability of converting low-frequency mechanical motion into electrical energy, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have become an attractive solution for powering next-generation wearable electronics. Nevertheless, the relatively limited output performance of wearable TENGs still constrains their application in a practical self-powered scene. Herein, we develop a high-performance square-structured TENG (SS-TENG) based on a nylon/chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) composite electrospinning mat (NCEM). Benefiting from the strong polarity of COS, the NCEM exhibits enhanced positive triboelectric properties, leading to a significant boost of about 10-fold higher output compared to pure nylon. The optimized NCEM achieves a maximum improvement to TENG’s power density (4.6 W/m 2 ), surpassing most reported biobased triboelectric materials. Furthermore, the SS-TENG demonstrates excellent omnidirectional biomechanical energy-harvesting capability, effectively capturing mechanical inputs from various directions during human motion. It also demonstrated excellent omnidirectional energy-harvesting capability in swing tests ranging from 15° to 45° and from 0.67 to 2 Hz while also featuring good durability and output stability. When suspended on a backpack, the device robustly converts complex, real-world biomechanical motions into usable electrical power to drive small wearable electronics. This work offers an efficient and environmentally sustainable strategy for improving triboelectric performance and facilitating innovation in a next-generation wearable system.