Flexible PVDF/nylon-11 electrospun fibrous membranes with aligned ZnO nanowires as potential triboelectric nanogenerators

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a novel energy harvester technology which attracted a great deal of attention in the area of self-powering electronic devices due to its high output power density. In this investigation, zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) were incorporated into the electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and nylon 11 nanofibers to construct new TENGs based on PVDF-ZnO NWs/nylon-ZnO NWs. This study showed that ZnO NWs were aligned along the fiber axis during electrospinning. The cooperative and mutual alignment of polymer chains with ZnO NWs were also achieved in the fibers because of electrospinning, which promoted formation of the highly polar crystalline β-phase of PVDF and δ’-phase of nylon. The maximum power density of ZnO NWs incorporated PVDF/nylon 11 triboelectric nanogenerator reached as high as 3.0 W/m² under an external load of 10–20 MΩ. The fabricated TENG with improved output performance can be directly used to lightening of more than 100 LEDs. Incorporation of ZnO NWs also improved both thermal stability and mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and elastic modulus of PVDF and nylon 11 fibrous membranes. This work disclosed a potent and sustainable power source for portable electronic devices.