High Tribo-Charge Density Composite Nanofiber Membrane for Motion Sensing and Water Wave Energy Harvesting

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), among the most simple and efficient means to harvest mechanical energy, have great potential in renewable energy utilization. While the output performance of TENGs is still not high enough, which limits its practical application. Here, a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/fluorinated ethylene propylene nanoparticles (FEP NPs) porous nanofiber (PFPN) membrane with waterproof, breathable, surface superhydrophobic and high tribo-negative properties is proposed for achieving high-performance of TENGs. The PFPN-based solid–solid contact PFPN-TENG achieved an optimal electric output with a net tribo-charge density of 294 µC m⁻², which is 42.2% more than that of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film. The PFNP membrane can maintain the best performance with almost no attenuation after 142680 working cycles. Based on its excellent triboelectric characteristics, the PFPN membrane shows its excellent performance for self-powered body motion sensing and mechanical energy harvesting. A flexible solid–liquid contact PFPN-TENG can achieve high electrical output with an average volume power density of ≈544.1 W m⁻³ by harvesting water wave energy. Such excellent performance of the PFPN membrane makes it a potential candidate to promote the power density of TENGs in harvesting blue water wave energy.