Lubrication as a Method of Separating the Charge Collecting Electrode and the Triboelectric Layer in a Direct Current Triboelectric Nanogenerator

As time progresses, the need for self‐powered sensing devices and new sources of energy grows. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which utilizes contact triboelectrification and electrostatic induction to produce energy, has emerged as an important invention that shows promise in satisfying both needs. One design of the TENG which uses electrostatic breakdown instead of electrostatic induction is the direct‐current TENG (DC‐TENG). DC‐TENGs require the attachment of a charge collecting electrode (CCE) behind a friction electrode (FE) which slides on a triboelectric layer (TL). The CCE must have a small distance between itself and the TL on which the TENG slides but is prohibited from touching the TL. This state can be difficult to achieve and maintain. This article proposes a DC‐TENG with a trailing free‐floating charge collecting electrode (FFCCE) which can be more easily separated from the TL by lubrication of the TL. The DC‐TENG w/ FFCCE was then compared to a traditional DC‐TENG and was found to have almost 2.43 times the power output of a non‐lubricated traditional DC‐TENG at low external resistances and had a comparable performance to a lubricated traditional DC‐TENG at the same low resistance range.