Evaluation of performance limitations and fabrication challenges of natural material derived triboelectric nanogenerators

Effective research and development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) require standardized testing protocol and fabrication method for consistent performance evaluation and comparison across devices. Conventional methods, such as hand tapping/human induced motions, introduce uncontrolled variations that lead to inconsistent and often exaggerated electrical outputs. This work presents, TENG performance analysis using a fatigue capable Mechanical Testing System, enabling precise control of applied force, displacement and frequency. As a proof-of-concept, a sustainable TENG was fabricated using orange peel powder as the triboelectric layer to replicate a natural material based TENG in recent literature. For the first time, under controlled conditions, device exhibited a stable open-circuit voltage (Voc) of ~8 V (1.13% error) and an electrical power of 28 nW (per-cycle), in contrast to the highly variable 88 – 155 Voc measured under manual tapping. These findings demonstrate that standardized testing protocol with reproducibility is required to provide realistic assessments of device performance to address this performance limitation. Beyond showcasing the potential of natural waste-derived materials, this study highlights the requirement of a universal standard for TENG testing to eliminate errors within device fabrication and testing methods. Moreover, this work pinpoints practical measures to improve device performance by addressing key challenges in fabrication.