UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

A stretchable, self-healing and semi-transparent nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing

Bagchi, Biswajoy; Datta, Priyankan; Fernandez, Carmen Salvadores; Xu, Lulu; Gupta, Priya; Huang, Wei; David, Anna L; ... Tiwari, Manish K; + view all (2023) A stretchable, self-healing and semi-transparent nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing. Nano Energy , 107 , Article 108127. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.108127. Green open access

[thumbnail of 1-s2.0-S2211285522012058-main.pdf]
Preview
PDF
1-s2.0-S2211285522012058-main.pdf - Published Version

Download (11MB) | Preview

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with an ability to harvest mechanical energy from natural and human activities, have shown tremendous potential to realise self-powered electronic devices and sensors. However, in order for optimum utilization of biomechanical energy, TENGs need to have body or tissue mimicking properties without compromising performance. Herein, a new hydrogel based all-soft, self-healing and stretchable TENG is introduced which exhibits outstanding power generation capability surpassing existing competitors. This unique TENG is realized by using gold nanoparticles doped semi-transparent hydrogel as an electrode and Ecoflex as the triboelectric layer which integrates multifunctional properties including rapid self-healing in < 2 min, 900% stretchability, high conductivity, transparency and excellent biocompatibility with human dermal fibroblasts. The use of a gel electrode with both ionic and electronic conductivities underlines the importance of gold nanoparticles in enhancing the performance of soft TENGs. A 5 cm^{2} device exhibits a prodigious power density of 1680 mWm^{−2} with an energy conversion efficiency of ≈ 26%, which is the highest achieved so far in contemporary hydrogel based TENGs. The moldable components allow easy fabrication of devices with tunable shapes and sizes that conforms to the human body and can power multiple electrical devices directly from body movements thus opening up possibilities for next generation self-powered wearable or implanted devices.

Type: Article
Title: A stretchable, self-healing and semi-transparent nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.108127
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.108127
Language: English
Additional information: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. under a Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Hydrogel, Gold nanoparticles, Self-healing, Nanogenerator, Biocompatibility
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Maternal and Fetal Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10162361
Downloads since deposit
70Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item