Electrospun ZnSnO₃/PVDF-HFP Nanofibrous Triboelectric Films for Efficient Mechanical Energy Harvesting

Nowadays, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are one of the most emerging technologies owing to their easy and cost-effective device structure. TENGs can harvest mechanical energy from our living environment. Herein, we synthesized dielectric zinc tin oxide (ZnSnO₃) nanoparticles (NPs) by a hydrothermal technique. The ZnSnO₃ NPs provide a dielectric and piezoelectric effect, which can efficiently enhance the output electrical performance of the proposed TENG. The prepared ZnSnO₃ NPs were embedded into a polyvinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) polymer to prepare ZnSnO₃/PVDF-HFP nanofibrous films to fabricate a TENG. The output performance of TENG was investigated and optimized by varying the loading concentration of ZnSnO₃ NPs in PVDF-HFP fibrous films. The highest voltage, current, charge density, and power density from the fabricated TENG were achieved as ~ 138 V, ~ 5 µA, ~ 52 µC/m², and ~ 1.6 W/m², respectively. Additionally, the robustness of the TENG was studied via the long-term mechanical stability test. Finally, the practical and real-time application of the TENG was demonstrated by harvesting mechanical energy to power low-power portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the materials used in the TENG were combined into a skipping rope to harvest biomechanical/mechanical energy while exercising.