A Simulation study of the output characteristics of freestanding Triboelectric nanogenerators with interdigitated electrodes for self-powered sensing application

Abstract

Diverse forms of mechanical energy are available in environmental routine activities. These energy forms can be harvested, measured and converted to produce electricity at nanogenerator (NG) and micro-scale levels based on the phenomenon of triboelectrification. These motivate this work to develop a self-powered sensing device to detect and monitor static and dynamic processes associated with mechanical activities. The significance is to study the output characteristics of freestanding mode triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with multiple units of metal and dielectric electrodes. The integrated modeling environment of COMSOL Multiphysics software was employed for the simulation study of the proposed TENG. The system output responses considered for analysis includes, open circuit electric potential and short circuit surface charge density.  For the open circuit, the electric potential was achieved at maximum value of 10kV, while for short circuit surface charge density, the electric potential was achieved at maximum value of 27 Cm^-2. The study results revealed that the input parameter of contact displacement of electrodes is proportional to the output electrical potential of the system. Hence, the efficiency of TENG can be deployed for energy harvesting and sensing of mechanical variables.