A Study on the Transient Process of Contact-Mode Triboelectric Nanogenerators

In the research of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), most attention has been paid to material modification, structural design, and power management. Little study has been performed on the transient process of TENGs, although the capacitance characteristics of TENGs are well known. In this work, the transient process of contact-mode TENGs was studied by the infinite-plate model and verified by experimental tests. The results showed that TENGs exhibited a much higher output in the transient process than that in the steady state. Within the transient process, the transfer charge gradually grew to a maximum value, while the output current and power decreased. A formula to calculate the duration of the transient process was derived by Fourier expansion. This work also demonstrated an interesting transformation process of the <i>Q</i>-<i>V</i> curve in the transient process. Furthermore, the transient phenomenon was verified clearly in a contact-mode TENG sample fabricated by copper and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films through experimental tests. These results are useful for performance optimization of TENGs in applications.