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Abstract:We demonstrate a new paradigm for the wireless harvesting of mechanical energy via a 3D-printed triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) which comprises a graphene polylactic acid (gPLA) nanocomposite and Teflon. The synergistic combination of eco-friendly PLA with graphene in our TENG exhibited an output voltage > 2 kV with an instantaneous peak power of 70 mW, which in turn generated a strong electric field to enable the wireless transmission of harvested energy over a distance of 3 m. Specifically, we demonstrate wireless and secure actuatation of smart-home applications such as smart tint windows, temperature sensors, liquid crystal displays, and security alarms either with a single or a specific user-defined passcode of mechanical pulses (e.g., Fibonacci sequence). Notably, such high electric output of a gPLA-based TENG enabled unprecedented wireless transmission of harvested mechanical energy into a capacitor, thus obviating the need for 2 additional electronics or energy sources. The scalable additive manufacturing approach for gPLA-based TENGs, along with their high electrical output can revolutionize the present method of harnessing the mechanical energy available in our environment.

Research into the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) has exponentially expanded over the last 5 years with TENGs expected to be a prominent alternative energy-harvesting source in the near future. Notwithstanding the rapid progress in TENG development and their applications, the start-up cost of required research equipment and components remains high for new entrants into the field. A substantial portion of that cost is for the preamplifier, which is needed for measuring the output current of a TENG. Here, an ultra-low-cost device is presented that can measure the TENG output current, which is a crucial parameter in the characterization of TENG electrical performance. This alternative approach is expected to enable research groups in the future to partially offset the initial expense of instrumentation necessary for TENG research, and accelerate the development and applications of TENGs.

The present work experimentally investigates the interaction of aromatic amino acids viz., tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalnine with novel two-dimensional (2D) materials including graphene, graphene oxide (GO), and boron nitride (BN).Photoluminescence, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry were employed to investigate the nature of interactions and possible charge transfer between 2D materials and amino acids. Graphene and GO were found to interact strongly with aromatic amino acids through π−π stacking, charge transfer, and H-bonding. Particularly, it was observed that both physi and chemisorption are prominent in the interactions of GO/graphene with phenylalanine and tryptophan while tyrosine exhibited strong chemisorption on graphene and GO. In contrast, BN exhibited little or no interactions, which could be attributed to localized π-electron clouds around N atoms in BN lattice. Lastly, the adsorption of amino acids on 2D materials was observed to considerably change their biological response in terms of reactive oxygen species generation. More importantly, these changes in the biological response followed the same trends observed in the physi and chemisorption measurements.

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