Optimization of Electrospinning Parameters for Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators

In this study, the effects of various fabrication parameters on the electrical performance of an electrospun nanofiber-based triboelectric nanogenerator (EN-TENG) are systematically investigated through the design of experiments. We selected four fabrication parameters to examine, namely: (i) working distance (needle to collector distance), (ii) needle gauge, (iii) electrospinning time, and (iv) counter materials. A mixed orthogonal array of L18 experiments was designed with respect to the one factor having two level values and three factors having three level values. The open circuit voltage of the EN-TENG was varied from 86.1 to 576.7 V with the aforementioned fabrication parameters. A longer working distance, a larger needle gauge, and a longer electrospinning time increased the open circuit voltage. The power density of the optimized EN-TENG was approximately 2.39 W/m2 at a 100 MΩ load resistance and was sufficient to illuminate a total of 200 LEDs.