Self-Powered Wearable TENG Sensors Using NiCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/ZnO Cofiller-Embedded Multilayered Electrospun Fiber-Mat for Human–Machine Interaction
Bithika Mandal, Shailendra Kumar, Animesh Maji, Naresh Chandra Murmu, Ankur Goswami, Santu Kumar Giri, Tapas Kuila
Abstract
In the Internet of Things era, research is ramping up to develop sustainable green technologies to combat environmental degradation and the depletion of fossil fuels. A high-performance flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) has been developed and tested to fabricate wearable bioelectronics. The TENG device comprises two triboelectric layers: a stacked multilayered composite fiber-mat with poly(vinylidene difluoride) and a Super P carbon black intercalated textured Polydimethylsiloxane film. The device has been developed for potential applications such as green energy harvesting, which can scavenge energy from different low-frequency mechanical energy sources such as walking, running, ambient vibrations, etc. A maximum of ∼127 V open-circuit voltage and 9.4 μA short-circuit current are obtained for PNZ15 with 15% NiCo 2 O 4 /ZnO cofiller-loaded fiber-mat (PNZ15). A maximum power output of 710 W under 4 MΩ load resistance and a power density of ∼178 μW cm –2 are achieved, which is ∼225% greater than that of PNZ0 with a bare fiber-mat. The quantity of dielectric filler significantly improves the output performance of the fabricated device. An assembled compact device with a surface area of 2 × 2 cm 2 can light up LEDs and drive small electronic gadgets. The synergistic outcome is mainly used as a sensor by integrating the fabricated device into wearable smart nanogadgets, which can be used for Human–Machine Interactions. The work is significant in self-powered wearable gadgets and biomechanical energy-harvesting technology. This work aims to provide strategies for synergistic outcomes of energy harvesting using the fabricated device.