A\nTriboelectric Nanogenerator Based on Waste Plastic\nand Layered Materials via Modulation of the Electrical and Dielectric\nProperties

Environmental pollution\ncaused by millions of waste plastics not\nonly is depleting our natural resources but also is one of the key\nfactors for climate change and is globally growing. Moreover, developing\ncarbon-free energy production is crucial for renewable energy and\nremains challenging. Hence, the development of triboelectric nanogenerators\n(TENGs) based on waste plastic is a promising solution that can address\nboth issues simultaneously. In this study, we demonstrate three types\nof TENGs based on waste plastic and layered VS<sub>2</sub> (plastic-VS<sub>2</sub>), SnS<sub>2</sub> (plastic-SnS<sub>2</sub>), and hBN (plastic-hBN).\nThe plastic-hBN TENG generated the highest output power density of\n460 mW/m<sup>2</sup>, in comparison to plastic-VS<sub>2</sub> (9.4\nmW/m<sup>2</sup>) and plastic-SnS<sub>2</sub> TENGs (47 mW/m<sup>2</sup>), along with long-term stability over 10000 cycles. Interestingly,\nthe output power density increases with the factor of resistivity\n× dielectric constant of the layered materials, from 2.29 ×\n10<sup>5</sup> Ωm (VS<sub>2</sub>) to 197 × 10<sup>5</sup> Ωm (hBN). As an application, plastic-hBN TENG is demonstrated\nto illuminate 76 light-emitting diodes driven by footsteps. Moreover,\nthe TENG is attached beneath a shoe and integrated with Arduino to\nmonitor the distance traveled and speed during walking/running, suggesting\npromising applications of the developed TENG for mechanical energy\nharvesting and wearable electronics.