Fabrication of low-cost and environmental-friendly EHD printable thin film nanocomposite triboelectric nanogenerator using household recyclable materials

Abstract

Humans generate massive amounts of plastic and electronic waste, which pollute our environment, particularly our water supplies, and cause fatal difficulties. In addition, the increased use of fossil fuels is wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. In order to solve these issues, we describe a simple, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) made of electronic waste and recycled plastic, and we add nanomaterial to improve power generation using biomechanical energy. The present investigation involves synthesizing carbon dots (CDs) nano-material through a single-step hydrothermal technique and CDs nano-material characterized via UV.Vis Spectroscopy. The proposed carbon dot-graphite nano composite-based TENGs (CGC-TENGs) are created by reusing dry cells (electronic waste) to obtain graphite, plastic bottles to obtain plastic, and synthesized CDs. CGC-TENGs manufactures a simple, low-cost, and environmentally friendly In-house quick and bulk fabrication printed electro hydrodynamics (EHD) electrospray process that uses less solvent and does not require specialist equipment or knowledge. Comparing fabricate TENG device results, in which CDs used produced high voltage (127.31 V)/current (107.12 μA), while not using CDs produced low voltage (95.23 V)/current (104.12 μA) at similar fabrication parameters, the size of the devices are 4.5 cm × 7 cm, and 15 N force applied. The CGC-TENG (δ) has maximum output performance and is thoroughly investigated using an open-circuit voltage of 171.30 V, a short circuit current of 111.39 μA, and a maximum output power density of 53.08 μW/cm2. CGC-TENG (δ) was used to power an electronic glucose monitoring device, and twenty-three blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to demonstrate its practical applications. The approach we propose produces renewable energy sources by reutilizing plastic waste and technological waste, providing a practical and sustainable path toward our goal of creating a green planet.