Organogel electrode enables highly transparent and stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators of high power density for robust and reliable energy harvesting

Abstract

Rapid advancements in stretchable and multifunctional next-generation electronics have raised great demand in development of transparent, stretchable and reliable power sources. Here, an organogel electrode, consisted of Poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) frame and low polarity propylene carbonate swelling solvent, was prepared for constructing a new kind of organogel ionic electrode based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), called Og-TENG, which not only possessed high transparence (95%) and stretchability (~387%), but also exhibited excellent electric reliability and mechanical robustness (foldable and twistable) under daily working temperature range (−20°C- 45 °C). The electric performance of Og-TENG is extraordinary, reaching a high instantaneous power density of 4.03 W/m2. The rational design of organogel electrode endowed the Og-TENG with excellent anti-freezing and solvent retention properties. Moreover, the good compatibility between organogel and triboelectric elastomer improved the interface adhesion and further made Og-TENG as a high reliable device under mechanical deformations as compared to high polarity gels based TENGs. The Og-TENG was demonstrated in harvesting bio-mechanical energies and detecting human gestures. This work provides a new strategy to prepare transparent and stretchable TENGs of high power density for reliable and robust energy harvesting in daily working temperature range, exhibiting promising potentials in development of stretchable and multifunctional next-generation electronics.