Li Mengjiao, Lu Hong-Wei, Wang Shu-Wei, Li Rei-Ping, Chen Jiann-Yeu, Chuang Wen-Shuo, Yang Feng-Shou, Lin Yen-Fu, Chen Chih-Yen, Lai Ying-Chih
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
Department of Physics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.
Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 17;13(1):938. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28575-3.
Reliable energy modules and higher-sensitivity, higher-density, lower-powered sensing systems are constantly required to develop wearable electronics and the Internet of Things technology. As an emerging technology, triboelectric nanogenerators have been potentially guiding the landscape of sustainable power units and energy-efficient sensors. However, the existing triboelectric series is primarily populated by polymers and rubbers, limiting triboelectric sensing plasticity to some extent owing to their stiff surface electronic structures. To enrich the current triboelectric group, we explore the triboelectric properties of the topological insulator nanofilm by Kelvin probe force microscopy and reveal its relatively positive electrification charging performance. Both the larger surface potential difference and the conductive surface states of the nanofilms synergistically improve the charge transfer behavior between the selected triboelectric media, endowing the topological insulator-based triboelectric nanogenerator with considerable output performance. Besides serving as a wearable power source, the ultra-compact device array demonstrates innovative system-level sensing capabilities, including precise monitoring of dynamic objects and real-time signal control at the human-machine interface. This work fills the blank between topological quantum matters and triboelectric nanogenerators and, more importantly, exploits the significant potential of topological insulator nanofilms for self-powered flexible/wearable electronics and scalable sensing technologies.
开发可穿戴电子产品和物联网技术持续需要可靠的能量模块以及更高灵敏度、更高密度、更低功耗的传感系统。作为一种新兴技术，摩擦纳米发电机一直在引领可持续动力装置和节能传感器领域的发展。然而，现有的摩擦电序列主要由聚合物和橡胶组成，由于其表面电子结构僵硬，在一定程度上限制了摩擦电传感的可塑性。为了丰富当前的摩擦电材料组，我们通过开尔文探针力显微镜研究了拓扑绝缘体纳米薄膜的摩擦电特性，并揭示了其相对正的起电充电性能。纳米薄膜较大的表面电势差和导电表面态协同改善了所选摩擦电介质之间的电荷转移行为，赋予基于拓扑绝缘体的摩擦纳米发电机可观的输出性能。除了作为可穿戴电源外，这种超紧凑的器件阵列还展示了创新的系统级传感能力，包括对动态物体的精确监测和人机界面的实时信号控制。这项工作填补了拓扑量子物质与摩擦纳米发电机之间的空白，更重要的是，挖掘了拓扑绝缘体纳米薄膜在自供电柔性/可穿戴电子产品和可扩展传感技术方面的巨大潜力。
