Synergistic Plasma Surface Engineering and Dielectric Tailoring of PDMS Toward High-Output Triboelectric Energy Harvesting

초록

Surface engineering of triboelectric layers is crucial for enhancing the energy-harvesting performance of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Herein, a systematic study on the surface modification of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films using radio-frequency (RF) plasma treatment in different gaseous atmospheres (Ar, O2, CF4, and O2+CF4) is reported to tune the surface properties for enhanced triboelectric performance. The synergistic effect of the plasma process using a mixed gas atmosphere of O2+CF4 with a ratio of 1:4 led to a surface with enhanced polarity, electronegativity, and charge-trapping ability by combining oxygen-containing polar functionalities and fluorinated groups. Such changes enabled a significant rise in surface charge density and effective contact area, which greatly increased the output voltage and current of TENG devices. Also, a dual-filler system consisting of ZnSnO3-decorated surface-modified carbon nanotubes (ZTO-SMC) and BaTiO3 was embedded in the plasma-treated PDMS matrix to promote dielectric properties and interfacial polarization synergistically. The optimized TENG device exhibited an extraordinary enhancement of voltage (702.88 V) and current (57.03 & micro;A) compared to untreated PDMS-based devices. This work highlights the prospects for combining plasma-assisted surface engineering with systematic materials engineering to realize high-performance TENGs, providing new insights into the development of self-sustaining energy systems.

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