Antagonistically Functionalized Diatom Biosilica for Bio-Triboelectric Generators

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomaterials

Background:

• Biomaterial-based triboelectric nanogenerators (Bio-TENGs) are promising for wearable electronics and implantable sensors.
• Current Bio-TENGs exhibit insufficient power generation for practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To significantly enhance the output performance of Bio-TENG devices.
• To develop an antagonistic approach using diatom frustules (DFs) with amine and fluorine chemical functionalizations.

Main Methods:

• Diatom frustules (DFs) were treated with piranha solution to increase hydroxyl group density.
• Tribo-positive and tribo-negative composite films were created using antagonistically functionalized DFs.
• The tribo-positive composite comprised aminated DFs and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs); the tribo-negative composite contained fluorinated DFs and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

Main Results:

• An antagonistically and chemically functionalized TENG (ACF TENG) achieved an output voltage of 248 V, a short-circuit current of 16.4 µA, and a power density of 2.01 W m⁻².
• This performance is 16.6 times higher than a reference TENG (CNC:PDMS).
• The ACF TENG demonstrated efficient performance with a contact area of 9.6 cm² under 8 N force and 5 Hz frequency.

Conclusions:

• A simple antagonistic approach for chemical functionalization effectively enhances Bio-TENG power generation.
• This method allows for manipulation of the tribo-polarity of bio-additives.
• The findings pave the way for more powerful and practical Bio-TENG devices.