Triboelectric charge modulation to understand the electrification process in nanogenerators combined with an efficient power management system for IoT applications.

Mechanical energy harvesting from ambient environment has been considered one of the promising technologies for developing autonomous self-powering units, sensors, and various other electronic applications. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are one of the recent technologies gaining tremendous interest because of their ability to efficiently harvest ambient energy and convert it into electricity. The phenomenon of the triboelectrification effect in TENGs is not fully understood, along with extracting a maximum electrical output. Herein, we studied the electrification process between two triboelectric films by modulating their charge polarity. The charge polarity in the triboelectric film was modulated without any surface chemical functionalization. A TENG was fabricated to experimentally study the electrification process. Initially, the accepting/donating electrons of a triboelectric film were modulated using fluorine and oxygen atoms contained in polymers and operated against an oppositely charged triboelectric film. After optimizing the electrical output and conducting various stability investigations, the electrical output from the TENG was enhanced. Ultra-low power management integrated circuit (PMIC) implemented in a 180 nm high-voltage BCD (Bipolar CMOS DMOS) process was used. While matching the effective impedance of the TENGs, the PMIC achieves a total energy transfer efficiency of 81.5% utilizing a relatively low input power of 6.5 µW, showing state-of-the-art performance. [Display omitted] • The triboelectrification effect in TENGs is explored, extracting a maximum electrical output. • The fundamentals of electrification are studied using an atomic-scale electron-cloud-potential-well model. • The charge polarity is modulated in the triboelectric film without any surface chemical functionalization. • The PMIC achieves a total energy transfer efficiency of 81.5% while matching the impedance of TENGs. • Multiple TENGs are fabricated and combined with a micro-controlling unit for IoT applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]