Cheng Ting, Cao Kunli, Jing Yidan, Wang Hongyan, Wu Yan
College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
Polymers (Basel). 2024 Apr 26;16(9):1208. doi: 10.3390/polym16091208.
Wood possesses several advantageous qualities including innocuity, low cost, aesthetic appeal, and excellent biocompatibility, and its naturally abundant functional groups and diverse structural forms facilitate functionalization modification. As the most sustainable bio-based material, the combination of wood with triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) stands poised to significantly advance the cause of green sustainable production while mitigating the escalating challenges of energy consumption. However, the inherent weak polarizability of natural wood limits its development for TENGs. Herein, we present the pioneering development of a flexible transparent wood-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TW-TENG) combining excellent triboelectrical properties, optical properties, and wood aesthetics through sodium chlorite delignification and epoxy resin impregnation. Thanks to the strong electron-donating groups in the epoxy resin, the TW-TENG obtained an open-circuit voltage of up to ~127 V, marking a remarkable 530% enhancement compared to the original wood. Furthermore, durability and stability were substantiated through 10,000 working cycles. In addition, the introduction of epoxy resin and lignin removal endowed the TW-TENG with excellent optical characteristics, with optical transmittance of up to 88.8%, while preserving the unique texture and aesthetics of the wood completely. Finally, we show the application prospects of TW-TENGs in the fields of self-power supply, motion sensing, and smart home through the demonstration of a TW-TENG in the charging and discharging of capacitors and the output of electrical signals in different scenarios.
木材具有多种优势特性，包括无害、成本低、美观且生物相容性极佳，其天然丰富的官能团和多样的结构形式便于进行功能化改性。作为最具可持续性的生物基材料，木材与摩擦纳米发电机（TENGs）相结合，有望在缓解能源消耗不断升级的挑战的同时，显著推动绿色可持续生产事业的发展。然而，天然木材固有的弱极化性限制了其在TENGs方面的发展。在此，我们通过亚氯酸钠脱木素和环氧树脂浸渍，开创性地开发了一种兼具优异摩擦电性能、光学性能和木材美学的柔性透明木质摩擦纳米发电机（TW-TENG）。得益于环氧树脂中强大的供电子基团，TW-TENG获得了高达约127 V的开路电压，与原始木材相比显著提高了530%。此外，通过10000次工作循环证实了其耐久性和稳定性。此外，环氧树脂的引入和木质素的去除赋予了TW-TENG优异的光学特性，其透光率高达88.8%，同时完全保留了木材独特的纹理和美观。最后，我们通过展示一个TW-TENG在电容器充放电以及不同场景下电信号输出，展示了TW-TENG在自供电、运动传感和智能家居领域的应用前景。
