High-performance piezoelectric 2D-single crystalline BaTiO3 /chitosan composite-based triboelectric nanogenerator for vibrational energy harvesting and game controller

Micromechanical vibration is a common energy source in the environment and has excellent potential for self-powered devices. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) converts vibrational energy to electricity, possessing an exceptional benefit over typical vibration energy harvesters due to its contact-based electrification method. Natural polymer-based TENGs are essential for sustainable self-powered devices that are biocompatible, biodegradable, produce high output, and have a low environmental impact. Herein, we prepared flexible and eco-friendly Chitosan/Barium Titanate-Platelets (CSBT) composites by solvent casting. The vibrational composite TENG (VC-TENG) has been designed by pairing CSBT composites as positive triboelectric material with the fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) film as the negative triboelectric material, Copper tape is used as an electrode for both the triboelectric materials. The BT concentration has been varied in the CSBT composite films. The optimized CSBT (3 wt%) (CSBT3) - based VC-TENG exhibits an open circuit voltage of 400 V, short-circuit current of 31 μA, and a maximum power density of 11 W/m2 at 14 MΩ of load resistance at 15g of acceleration. Its potential application as an energy harvester from vibrations produced by the songs, powering 100 LEDs, and charging capacitors for powering portable electronics is demonstrated. Furthermore, the VC-TENG has been utilized as a sensor for the game-controlling unit as a human-machine interface. The present work can pave a pathway towards ecological and flexible production of TENGs for various applications, such as voice recognition and energy harvesting from the vibrations of songs, and as sensors for different real-life applications.