Deep Trap Boosted Ultrahigh Triboelectric Charge Density in Nanofibrous Cellulose-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators

For their use in self-powered implantable or wearable electronics, cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have drawn a lot of attention. However, the low triboelectric charge density (TECD) hinders its further application as a tribolayer for TENGs. In this work, a sulfonated cellulose nanofiber was prepared as an electropositive tribolayer for TENGs to obtain ultrahigh electrical output performance. Since the introduction of sulfonic acid effectively increased the dielectric properties and hole deep trap density of the CNF film, the triboelectric charge storage capacity of the CNF-SO₃Na film was improved. The results showed that the TECD of the CNF-SO₃Na film increased by 460% compared with the pristine CNF film. Furthermore, the dielectric constant and deep trap density of the CNF-SO₃Na film increased by 2.4 times and 8.1 times. This work encourages the use of TENGs in real-world wireless transmission applications by outlining an easy and effective method for building high-performance TENGs.