The charging performance in contact electrification of fluorinated ethylene propylene surfaces by electrode bridge

Triboelectricity utilizes triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) that transfer negative charges between two material surfaces that are in contact. Incomplete flow of charges results in charge accumulation on the material surfaces. In this study, we demonstrated that the accumulated charges could enhance induced output by contact elec-trification using electrode bridge (EB) to improve charge transfer mechanism. Triboelectric nanogenerator electrode bridge (TENG-EB) was fabricated using synergistic combination of polymer-polymer, polymer-metal, and metal-metal contacts during contact-electrification. Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) film was fabri-cated using hot pressing technique. FEP crystallinity reached 85.8%, maximum temperature for epsilon r of FEP was 145 degrees C, and remanent polarization of FEP polymer was 4.2 mu C mm- 2. The individual events of the charge transfer during contact and separating of TENG-EB could be studied with a single electrode measurement. Separation of FEP, EB and electrode surfaces led to induced output of which signal was 4 times higher than TENG with non-EB. This mechanism utilized DC output that enhanced AC output signal for a given tapping frequency across a rectifier circuit. This new route is proposed for further research, development and invention in alternative energy field including energy harvesting and flexible electronic devices.