Enhancing contact triboelectrification by coupling interfacial spontaneous polarization and permittivity manipulation

The electricity generation of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) originates from charge transfer enabled by contact electrification. However, the inherent barrier between two contacting surfaces hampers the triboelectric charge transfer. There are mainly four ways to promote the triboelectrification of TENGs. While synergy among them has never been achieved. Herein, we reported an effective strategy to boost the triboelectric charge transfer efficiency by synergizing the strong ferroelectric polarization and high permittivity of embedded lead zirconate titanate fillers. The influence of interfacial polarization intensity and the dielectric permittivity, as well as corona poling, on the triboelectrification of composite film was systematically investigated. Notably, the switching of interfacial polarization direction renders an increase (207%) or a decrease (71%) in the triboelectric output in comparison with the non-poled counterpart. Theoretical modeling was established by combining Kelvin probe force microscopy characterization with the electron cloud overlap energy band derivation. This work not only offers unprecedented insight into the fundamental mechanism of triboelectrification but also opens up a possibility in the development of next-generation wearable electronics.