A high-performance transparent and flexible triboelectric nanogenerator based on hydrophobic composite films

The modern portable and wearable electronic devices have been put forward a claim on flexibility, transparency and lightweight. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has attracted great attention as basic component of independent power source due to its outstanding characteristics. Here, a simple and efficient approach was demonstrated to modify poly-(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) in order to both improve the output electrical performance of TENG and optimize its hydrophobility as well. The 4 cm² TENG consisting of PDMS-perfluorododecyl trichlorosilane (FDTS) friction layer and copper nanowires (Cu NWs)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) electrode, exhibits high output voltage and large transfer charge quantity of 125 V and 80 nC, where the corresponding electrical performances are larger with several times than that of pristine PDMS-based TENG. A voltage of 105.8V can be obtained even under the ambient condition with high humidity of ~60%. The improvements are attributed to the reaction between FDTS and PDMS, introducing fluorine element to absorb more electrons and increasing dielectric constant. Moreover, the fabricated TENG remains high visible transmittance (70.1%) and good flexibility as energy sources which can satisfy the demands of portable and wearable electronic devices.