Cation functionalized nylon composite nanofibrous mat as a highly positive friction layer for robust, high output triboelectric nanogenerators and self-powered sensors

This paper proposes a poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (poly-DADMAC)/nylon-11 composite nanofibrous mat as a highly positive triboelectric layer to boost TENG performance. Incorporating cationic poly-DADMAC enhances the dielectric constant and surface charge trapping capability, leading to significantly improved output performance and mechanical strength.

• A novel poly-DADMAC/nylon-11 composite nanofibrous mat as a highly positive triboelectric layer.
• Three-fold increase in surface charge trapping capability and six-fold increase in mechanical strength.
• Demonstrated excellent power density and use as a self-powered pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity.
• Application in an IoT system for real-time human motion monitoring via a smartphone.

A TENG was fabricated using the proposed composite nanofibrous mat. The output performance was enhanced through dielectric modulation by incorporating cationic poly-DADMAC. The TENG was tested for its power generation capabilities and as a self-powered pressure and motion sensor.

The fabricated TENG showed an excellent power density of 7.6 W/m² and an ultra-high sensitivity of 1.01 V/KPa as a pressure sensor. It successfully monitored various human motions (walking, running, jumping) and transmitted the data to a smartphone web application in an IoT setup.