Triboelectric Nanogenerators Printed from Composite Inks for Energy Harvesting

Triboelectric nanogenerators have recently emerged as a very promising energy harvesting technique for transforming mechanical energy into electrical energy. Their emergence is especially timely as the world undergoes a sustainable energy revolution and these devices have successfully demonstrated energy harvesting from a vast range of applications from wind to wave to wearable textiles. Importantly, they can also be fabricated from common materials such as paper, polymers, and graphite. However, as most highly triboelectric materials are polymeric, they suffer from low currents and brittleness under friction, with high performances usually only achieved using complex materials with a large number of processing stages. These are major challenges that are preventing the widespread and long-term application of these devices. This project will simultaneously address all of these issues by developing a printable polymeric composite containing 1D carbon nanotubes (to improve both mechanical strength & electrical conduction) and 2D nanosheets of molybdenum disulphide (to improve the charge retention & operation lifetime) which, in combination with a paper-based tribopositive layer, will form the basis of a low-cost, high performance & robust triboelectric nanogenerator. Crucially, as this composite will be printable it will be compatible with scalable processes such as roll-to-roll or flexographic printing. Success here will be achieved by combining the applicant's expertise on printable nanomaterials with the supervisor's knowledge and background on triboelectric generation and energy-storage devices. We will also demonstrate the practical utility of these devices by printing a device capable of harvesting energy from a bicycle tyre under cycling conditions. The creation of an optimised ink in combination with additive manufacturing techniques means we will be easily able to print devices that can ultimately be integrated into a wide range of harvesting applications.