Cobalt-Nanoporous Carbon Functionalized Nanocomposite-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Contactless and Sustainable Self-Powered Sensor Systems
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which operate in contactless mode and avoid physical contact, are highly attractive for self-powered sensor systems aiming to achieve long-term reliable operation and reduce rubbing friction. Herein, an ultra-flexible and high-performance contactless double-layer TENG (CDL-TENG) is first designed and fabricated using a metal–organic framework-based cobalt nanoporous carbon (Co-NPC)/Ecoflex with MXene/Ecoflex nanocomposite layer for self-powered sensor applications. The porous structure of the Co-NPC provides a high-surface-area of the nanocomposite and the charge storage layer of the MXene/Ecoflex nanocomposite accumulates more negative charge to improve the functionality of the CDL-TENG two and three times, respectively. Compared with Ecoflex film-based TENGs, the fabricated CDL-TENG exhibits an eight-fold slower decay rate owing to charge trapping characteristics, which were confirmed by surface potential measurements. The CDL-TENG shows excellent humidity and acceleration sensitivity of about 0.3 V/% and 2.06 Vs<sup>2</sup> m<sup>−1</sup>. The CDL-TENG also offers non-contact position detection performance in the 20 cm range. Furthermore, the CDL-TENG is successfully integrated with mobile-vehicles and an intelligent robot to perform obstacle and human-motion detection. Finally, a contactless door-lock password authentication system was demonstrated. These multifunctional benefits make it useful for numerous applications, including artificial intelligence, human-machine interfaces, and self-powered sensors.</p>