Research Projects

Growing ecological and economic constraints in using fossil fuels and lack of efficient renewable energy sources prompted the search for alternative energy harvesting technologies. The utilization of energy which is wasted or the energies in environment that are unseen for practical extraction can be applied to modify the current scenario of promoting renewable energy, which is introduced to be Triboelectric Energy. Triboelectric Energy is generated as a combined effect of both Electrostatic effect and friction. During the contact between certain materials, charges get transferred resulting in electrification after the contact separation which is termed the Triboelectric Effect or it is also known to be Contact Electrification. Here comes the Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) which can convert the synergism of the Triboelectric effect into power. TENG is capable of converting irregular, distributed, and wasted mechanical energy into electric power. The statistics say that even a voltage of up to 35,000 V can be induced by triboelectricity from human everyday life activities. The mechanism of TENG is classified into four major ways depending on the motion and friction between the Triboelectric materials. The first one is the Contact - Separation Method, Single Electrode Mode, Sliding Mechanism, and Free Standing Triboelectric layer mode. Reaping Energy under different conditions from various sources is possible with TENG. Materials used for the Triboelectrification process are based on the Triboelectric Series. It is actually the ability of a material to loss or accept electrons, which can be arranged as a sequence. PTFE is the most used electronegative material in TENGs. There are a number of advantages to use TENG such as: • Relatively High Efficiency for energy harvesting • Easy working mechanism • Greater choice of materials and structurally simple • Works in low frequency effectively • Complementary to Electromagnetic Generator • Large value of instantaneous voltage output However, there few limitations yet to be resolved to implement in the real-life application and to scale up to the large-scale energy sector. • Short life due TENGs can experience degradation and wear and tear along with electric breakdown over time, which can reduce their efficiency and lifetime. • High internal impedance. • Heat generation due to friction and chance to alter the mechanical properties: • Lack of standardized comparison method. • Storage issues. Hence, here we propose an efficient approach to reduce the internal impedance by engineering Schottky junctions through hybridizing nano-sized materials as fillers to polymer-based negative triboelectric layers. More precisely, the proposal reveals the synthesis of silver nanowire-strontium manganite perovskite oxide-Mxene (AgNW-SrMnO3/Mxene) composite material and its incorporation as fillers to the polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) negative tribo-layer