Alcohol-treated silk makes a better energy harvester
The work builds on previous research into triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) that used human movement to generate electricity and by pairing TENG with an implantable biosensor could create a disposable sensor that requires no wires or batteries.
Triboelectric generation is the familiar idea of creating free electrons by rubbing a plastic wand with a silk cloth. And silk and plastic are the two materials used by the research team, which is from the Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) at the University of Surrey and Kyung Hee University in South Korea. The project leader was Bhaskar Dudem, research fellow at ATI
The researchers at ATI developed a TENG from silk cocoon waste and used an alcohol treatment to improve the durability of the device under humid conditions.
Microarchitectured silkworm fibroin were used in the TENG because they have a high surface roughness and an outstanding ability to lose electrons
The alcohol-treated microarchitectured silk film(AT-MASF) was used with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) positive contact exhibit a stable and high electrical output even in harsh environments. The AT-MASF-TENG was used to drive low-power portable electronics and for sensing in human-body centric activities.
Related links and articles:
Paper published by Nano Energy
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