Expanding the versatility of poly (dimethylsiloxane) through polymeric modification: an effective approach for improving triboelectric energy harvesting performance

In this work, metal-to-dielectric contact-separation type triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) are realized using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and steel to harvest energy from daily motions with frequencies of around 1 Hz. A novel polymer modified PDMS has been used as the active material of the TENG device to extend the triboelectric properties of the traditional PDMS. For this purpose, PDMS is functionalized with polystyrene (PS) and poly(pentafluorostyrene) (PPFS) using batch-fabrication compatible methods. Two-step functionalization is employed, first, with the integration of chain transfer polymerization agents into the PDMS matrix and then with the growth of polymers on PDMS using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization. Power generation of PDMS in TENG is improved by 16 times with PS and by 48 times with PPFS modification. Steel is used as the counter electrode due to its promising mechanical material properties in forming springs and actuators in microsystems.