Enhancing the endogenous triboelectricity of a polylactic acid nanofiber film by controlling the MXene content and distribution

Abstract

Fiber composite materials with filler–matrix friction between fibers can produce triboelectric signals realizing endogenous triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Endogenous TENGs are easy to package and do not require controlled distance as piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) do, but without piezoelectric materials. However, limited studies have been conducted on the design and control of the filler content and distribution in fibers to improve the electricity generation of endogenous TENGs, which is significant for the evolution as a replacement for PENGs. In this study, an endogenous TENG was prepared using a polylactic acid (PLA) composite fiber film and MXene as the matrix and filler, respectively. The generated open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and charge increase when PLA–MXene contacts are introduced between the fibers, reaching the highest values of 16 V, 1.2 μA, and 7 nC, respectively, in the case of 1 wt% MXene/PLA (1 wt% PMX). Then, a blend film (B-M film) was designed to optimize the MXene distribution to further increase the number of PLA–MXene contacts and the B-M film with 1 wt% MXene shows a higher output power of 4.55 μW cm⁻² than that with 1 wt% PMX (1.23 μW cm⁻²). This study reveals the effects of the filler content and distribution on the electricity generation of endogenous TENGs based on composite fiber films, and the employed blending strategy provides a new idea for improving their output performance.