Suppressing charge recombination by synergistic effect of ferromagnetic dual-tribolayer for high output triboelectric nanogenerator

Charge recombination occurring inside the tribolayer limits the further improvement of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) output. While the doping of ferromagnetic medium in triboelectric materials has been proven effective in boosting the TENG output, its working mechanism in the tribolayer remains to be investigated. Herein, the dual tribolayer synergistic effect is demonstrated as a means of suppressing surface charge recombination, thus achieving a high peak power density of TENG based on a composite film of polymer/nickel nanoparticles. A dual tribolayer model is proposed to reveal the working mechanism of the ferromagnetic medium for suppressing charge recombination in the positive and negative tribolayer. The charge recombination ratio as a standardized assessment method is defined to quantify the surface charge loss. Owing to the dual tribolayer synergistic effect, the optimal TENG exhibits a record-high peak power density of 15.2 W m-2 Hz-1 with the ultra-low charge recombination ratio of 2.1%, representing a remarkable 3100% increase in comparison to pristine TENG in the atmospheric environment. A self-powered sitting posture monitoring system is developed based on the woven structured DT-TENGs benefiting from the dual-tribolayer synergistic effect. This work demonstrates the superior behavior of TENG in generating ultra-high-power output and provides a significant guidance in materials selection.