3D Printed SnS₂/SnS-Based Nanocomposite Hydrogel as a Photoenhanced Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Abstract

Recent advancements in printing technologies have led to new fabrication techniques for the development of various flexible, compact, wearable, and portable energy harvesters and self-powered devices. In particular, the three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology for a nanogenerator has become advantageous due to its low cost, simplicity, and high precision in fabricating complicated structures. Therefore, we report a 3DP-based photoinduced triboelectric nanogenerator (PTNG) fabrication, a hybrid version of a conventional triboelectric nanogenerator. Here, a 3D printed poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite hydrogel (3DPH) with photoactive SnS2/SnS nanoflakes is used as a tribo-positive material and copper foil as a tribo-negative material for PTNG application. Under light illumination, the as-fabricated PTNG with an optimized weight percentage of SnS2/SnS displays the open-circuit voltage (V oc) enhancement from 29 to 37.5 V and short-circuit current (I sc) enhancement from 1.23 to 1.58 μA. In addition, the power density of the device is observed at 5.4 μW/cm2 under illumination conditions at the external load of 60 MΩ. This enhanced performance of the as-fabricated PTNG is attributed to the mutual coupling effect and improved interfacial interactions between the SnS2/SnS nanoflakes and PVA under the influence of light illumination, leading to a charge-trapping mechanism. The outstanding performance and stability of the as-fabricated PTNG surpassing all similar recent reports, establish it as an effective hybrid platform for constructing multifunctional self-powered devices.

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“…The spectral data showed a peak in the IR region, which was used further to calculate the band gap as exhibited in Figure f. The energy band gap of the ZFO nanoparticles was calculated from the UV-spectral data using Tauc’s plots , ( α h ϑ ) = A false( h ϑ − E normalg false) n where α is the absorption coefficient, A is a constant known as the band tailing parameter, E g is the energy gap, h is Planck’s constant, ϑ is the energy of the incident photon, and n is the index that characterizes the optical absorption process.…”

“…The average current output was observed to be the highest at 1 MΩ and reduced with increase in external load resistance as shown in SI: Figure S3. The power density was calculated using eq P = V 2 R × S where…”

“…19 The spectral data showed a peak in the IR region, which was used further to calculate the band gap as exhibited in Figure 2f. The energy band gap of the ZFO nanoparticles was calculated from the UV-spectral data using Tauc's plots 20,21…”