MXene effectively enhances the electron-withdrawing (EW) ability and dielectric properties of PVDF-TrFE nanofibers for triboelectric nanogenerators

Functional fillers can improve the triboelectric characteristics of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF)-based material, a typical triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) negative dielectric layer material. MXene fillers can significantly enhance the triboelectric characteristics of PVDF-based negative dielectric layers by dielectric modulation. However, the effect of MXene as a highly electronegative filler on the electron-withdrawing (EW) ability of PVDF/MXene composite films is frequently ignored. In this work, polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoro-ethylene (PVDF-TrFE)/MXene (Ti3C2Tx) composite nanofibers films (PMNFs) are prepared by electrospinning. When the MXene content is 0.8 wt%, PMNFs-based TENG achieves a maximum output power density of 250 mW/m2 at a matching external load resistance of 4 MΩ and a maximum open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 85 V, 2.66 times higher than that of the PVDF-TrFE-based TENG. Enhancing the EW ability and the dielectric properties by adding MXene are considered and proven by examining the work function (WF) and dielectric constant (and loss), respectively. Finally, we design a tremor-based TENG by PMNFs and develope a novel respiratory monitor to achieve real-time respiratory monitoring, which should offer fresh perspectives on creating respiratory monitoring devices.