Highly flexible triboelectric nanogenerators with electrospun PVDF-TrFE nanofibers on MWCNTs/PDMS/AgNWs composite electrodes

With an increasing demand for flexible and portable power sources, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been attracted as self-powered systems. In this study, we fabricated highly flexible TENGs composed of directly electrospun a poly(vinylidene fluoride co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) nanofiber membranes on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)/silver nanowires (AgNWs) composite electrodes. Adjusting the PDMS mixing ratio could enhance the adhesive strength and decrease Young's modulus of the composite electrode, resulting in the fabrication of highly flexible TENGs. The TENG (30 mm × 30 mm2) yielded a power density of 5.28 W/m2. In addition, it was demonstrated the TENG could stably harvest electric energy under various conditions. It is expected that the proposed TENGs could be applied as electrical power sources for flexible electronics due to its sufficient electrical performance and flexibility.