Biomimetic Microstructure Design for Superhydrophobic Structure in Triboelectric Nanogenerator Device

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) convert kinetic energy into electrical charge, with liquid-solid TENGs utilizing the movement of water droplets for energy generation. To optimize efficiency, the surface must be superhydrophobic, inspired by the natural properties of taro leaves. These leaves exhibit contact angles exceeding 150°, indicating superhydrophobicity. By mimicking the unique surface structure of taro leaves, biomimetic technology has been developed to achieve similar properties. Using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), the specific design responsible for these characteristics was analysed. An equation derived from the Cassie-Baxter theory confirmed high contact angles, with the maximum observed angle of 168.45° achieved using a 10 μm cylindrical pillar diameter (S<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">cy</inf>) and a 30 μm distance between pillars (d<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">cy</inf>). This study demonstrates that replicating the microstructure of taro leaves can effectively create superhydrophobic surfaces.