Organic semiconductor polymers: a carbazole-based novel tribopositive polymer for energy harvesting with high temperature stability

Abstract

Organic semiconducting polymers (OSPs) are the most promising candidates for future electronics due to their light weight, simplicity of synthesis, designability of molecular structures, remarkable chemical and thermal stability, tunability of properties, and innate flexibility. The appealing properties of OSPs can lead to their utilization for the fabrication of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with high environmental stability. Herein, for the first time, we present a carbazole-based triarylamine (MAP1-18) organic semiconducting polymer for fabricating TENGs. The MAP1-18/PTFE-based TENG generates a high output electrical performance with a voltage of 796 V, current of 46 μA, and maximum power density of 148 μW cm⁻² at a uniform 10 Hz frequency. Moreover, the MAP1-18-based TENG exhibits an extremely stable performance under high-temperature conditions of <120 °C, demonstrating its stability under extreme environmental conditions due to its high thermal stability indicated by its high glass transition temperature (T_g). The TENG device is further utilized to charge numerous commercial capacitors, drive up light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and run low-powered electronic devices. These results demonstrate that the fabrication of the MAP1-18-based TENG is a significant step towards the utilization of carbazole-based p-type organic semiconducting polymers for the fabrication of highly stable TENGs for use in harsh environmental conditions.