A high-performance triboelectric nanogenerator with improved output stability by construction of biomimetic superhydrophobic nanoporous fibers

The utilization of nanoporous materials is an extremely effective approach to enhance the electrical performances of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, existing methods for preparing nanoporous tribo-materials not only are complicated, costly and time-consuming but also waste lots of materials. Meanwhile, the fabricated nanoporous tribo-materials with low roughness by nature possess poor surface hydrophobicities, causing low output stability in a humid environment. Here, a bio-inspired petiole-like micron fiber-based tribo-material with inner nanopores, rough surface nanostructures, and superhydrophobicity is first designed by an extraordinarily simple, ultralow-waste and efficient single-component electrospinning. The petiole-like structures and superhydrophobicity endow the assembled triboelectric nanogenerator (PMF-TENG) with outstanding electrical performances and superior output stability under humid conditions. With a giant power density of 56.9 W m–2 and a high peak-to-peak output voltage of 2209 V, the optimized PMF-TENG can not only be used as a biomechanical energy harvester to directly drive 833 light-emitting-diodes and small electronics but also serve as a self-powered sensor to detect body motions. Moreover, under the high relative humidity of 80%, the output retention rate of the optimized PMF-TENG is 1.7 and 2.2 times as high as the TENG assembled with the traditional smoother solid nanofiber-based tribo-material and the monolithic nanoporous tribo-material-based TENG, respectively. This work provides an easy-to-fabricate high-performance nanoporous material-based TENG with ultralow material waste and extends its potential for application in humidity conditions.