Flexible triboelectric nanogenerators using transparent copper nanowire electrodes: energy harvesting, sensing human activities and material recognition.
Biswajoy BagchiPriyankan DattaCarmen Salvadores FernandezPriya GuptaShireen JaufuraullyAnna Louise DavidDimitrios SiassakosAdrien DesjardinsManish K TiwariPublished in: Materials horizons (2023)
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as a promising green technology to efficiently harvest otherwise wasted mechanical energy from the environment and human activities. However, cost-effective and reliably performing TENGs require rational integration of triboelectric materials, spacers, and electrodes. The present work reports for the first time the use of oxydation-resistant pure copper nanowires (CuNWs) as an electrode to develop a flexible, and inexpensive TENG through a potentially scalable approach involving vacuum filtration and lactic acid treatment. A ∼6 cm 2 device yields a remarkable open circuit voltage ( V oc ) of 200 V and power density of 10.67 W m -2 under human finger tapping. The device is robust, flexible and noncytotoxic as assessed by stretching/bending maneuvers, corrosion tests, continuous operation for 8000 cycles, and biocompatibility tests using human fibroblast cells. The device can power 115 light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a digital calculator; sense bending and motion from the human hand; and transmit Morse code signals. The robustness, flexibility, transparency, and non-cytotoxicity of the device render it particularly promising for a wide range of energy harvesting and advanced healthcare applications, such as sensorised smart gloves for tactile sensing, material identification and safer surgical intervention.
Keyphrases
- endothelial cells
- healthcare
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- pluripotent stem cells
- randomized controlled trial
- cell proliferation
- reduced graphene oxide
- emergency department
- induced apoptosis
- gold nanoparticles
- solid state
- lactic acid
- high resolution
- social media
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell death
- carbon nanotubes