Boosting the Power Output of a Cement-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator by Enhancing Dielectric Polarization with Highly Dispersed Carbon Black Nanoparticles toward Large-Scale Energy Harvesting from Human Footsteps

Abstract

A strategy to enhance the energy conversion performance of a cement-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been proposed for large-scale energy harvesting from human footsteps. A cement-carbon black (CB) composite is fabricated by incorporating CB nanoparticles with a hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) admixture and used as a triboelectric material for TENG. The fabricated cement-CB@HEC TENG exhibits a 13fold enhancement of the electrical output with the highest power density of 2.38 W/m 2 . The tremendous improvement is ascribed to a good dispersion of conductive CB nanoparticles in the cement matrix, which is key for achieving a high dielectric constant that is required to intensify the triboelectric charge density of TENG. Moreover, it was found that the addition of the HEC admixture plays a crucial role in not only providing a good dispersion of CB for generating dielectric polarization but also facilitating the development of a microstructure and crystallization of cement hydration products to reduce the formation of air voids and micropores. These factors synergistically contribute to the improved dielectric constant and compressive strength of the cement-CB@HEC composite. This remarkable strategy presents great prospects for the development of smart cement materials for realizing applications in large-scale energy harvesting toward sustainable, clean, and renewable energy sources.

Engineering Triboelectric Charge in Natural Rubber–Ag Nanocomposite for Enhancing Electrical Output of a Triboelectric Nanogenerator

“…Many strategies have been proposed to enhance the TENG performance, which mainly aim to intensify triboelectric charges on triboelectric materials. , Besides the selection of tribo-materials, modifying the surface/internal structure with nanostructure to enhance friction area − and improving charge retention by tuning dielectric constant of tribo-materials ,− are the main approaches for boosting power density of TENG. In the latter case, filling the triboelectric material with a conductive material such as metal, metal oxide, and conductive carbon nanoparticles is one of the most effective approaches to enhance charge trapping ability ,, from an improvement in the dielectric constant of triboelectric materials. In addition, the diversity of filler material choices, the ease of fabrication, and the robustness of the triboelectric film are the key benefits offered by this approach whereas the surface modification ones may require a sophisticated fabrication process and the surface nanostructures could be damaged or worn out during contact/sliding TENG operations.…”

All-Electrospun Triboelectric Nanogenerator Incorporating Carbon-Black-Loaded Nanofiber Membranes for Self-Powered Wearable Sensors

“…Among them, carbon black (CB) is often used as a conductive filler due to its high conductivity, availability, and low specific gravity . In addition, CB can significantly improve the dielectric constant of polymer substrate. , The increase of the dielectric constant of friction layers can remarkably improve the charge storage ability of friction layers and decrease the output impedance of TENG to increase its output performance. , Li et al found that introducing CB into the PS fiber membranes could boost the charge transfer rate and storage depth of triboelectric charges, which significantly enhanced the output of TENG.…”

Boosting the electrical output of cement-based triboelectric nanogenerator by surface treatment technique

“…Cement is a fundamental construction material that generally faces a lot of mechanical energy such as human walking, movement of vehicles, and vibration from the environment, thus this makes it an attractive candidate material for the development of cement-based triboelectric nanogenerators (C-TENGs). In previous works, the optimization of electricity generation performance in C-TENGs was conducted through the doping of high-dielectric constant materials, such as carbon black [1] and TiO2 nanoparticles [2].…”