Triboelectric nanogenerators have garnered significant attention as alternative power sources for wearable electronics owing to their simple structure, easy fabrication, low cost, and superior power output. In this study, we build a transparent, stretchable, and attachable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with an advanced power output using plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel. The PVC-gel exhibit very high negative triboelectric properties and electrically insulating PVC became an electrically active material. We find that a single-layer of PVC-gel could act as a dielectric and as a conducting layer. The PVC-gel based single layer of triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) creates output signals of 24.7 V and 0.83 μA, i.e., a 20-fold enhancement in the output power compared to pristine PVC-based TENGs. In addition, the S-TENG can stably generate output voltage and current under stretching condition (80 %). The S-TENG can be implemented as a tactile sensor that can sense position and pressure without combining multiple elements or electrode grid patterns. Our study provides new applications of power sources and tactile sensors in wearable electronics.

[Reference] Park et al., (2022) “Plasticized PVC-Gel Single Layer-Based Stretchable Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Mechanical Energy and Tactile Sensing”, Advanced Science

[Main Author] Hyosik Park(Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology), Seung-Ju Oh(Korea University of Technology and Education), Jin Woo Bae(Korea University of Technology and Education), Ju-Hyuck Lee(Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)

* Contact : Professor Jin Woo Bae (jwbae@koreatech.ac.kr), Professor Ju-Hyuck Lee (jhlee85@dgist.ac.kr)