High‐Performance Dielectric Elastomer Nanogenerator for Efficient Energy Harvesting and Sensing via Alternative Current Method

• Published in: Advanced science Vol. 9; no. 18; pp. e2201098 - n/a
• Main Authors: Xu, Zisheng, Bao, Kunwei, Di, Kui, Chen, Haojie, Tan, Jianbo, Xie, Xinjun, Shao, Yixin, Cai, Jiancheng, Lin, Shizhe, Cheng, Tinghai, E, Shiju, Liu, Kang, Wang, Zhong Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-06-2022; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: charge density; dielectric elastomer generator; Diodes; electret; Electrodes; Energy; energy harvesting; Generators; nanogenerator; dielectric elastomer generator; electret; energy harvesting; charge density; nanogenerator
• ISSN: 2198-3844; 2198-3844
• DOI: 10.1002/advs.202201098

Soft, low‐cost, high‐performance generators are highly desirable for harvesting ambient low frequency mechanical energy. Here, a dielectric elastomer nanogenerator (DENG) is reported, which consists of a dielectric elastomer capacitor, an electret electrostatic voltage source, and a charge pump circuit. Under biaxial stretching, DENG can convert tensile mechanical energy into electrical power without any external power supply. Different from traditional DEG with the charge outward transfer in direct current (DC), the DENG works based on shuttle movement of internal charges in an alternating current (AC). Through alternating current (AC) method, the charge density of the DENG can reach 26 mC m−2 per mechanical cycle, as well as energy density of up to 140 mJ g−1. Due to the all‐solid‐state structure without air gap, the DENG is capable of working stably under different ambient humidity (20 RH%–100 RH%). To demonstrate the applications, a water wave harvester based on the DENG is constructed. The integrated device powers a sensing communication module for self‐powered remote weather monitoring, showing the potential application in ocean wave energy harvesting.
An optimized approach toward high output performance for the dielectric elastomer generator without the need for external power supply. Based on the alternating model, the maximum charge density and the maximum energy density can reach 26 mC m−2 and 140 mJ g−1 per mechanical cycle. Due to all‐solid‐state structure, the generator is capable of working stably under high ambient humidity.