Utilizing Breakdown Discharge of Self-Powered Triboelectric Nanogenerator to Realize Multimodal Sterilization

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is regarded as an efficient electrical energy generation technology for powering sterilization and disinfection systems. However, TENG-based sterilization systems usually involve special materials and additional equipments. Additionally, the energy dissipation in TENG application, especially the breakdown discharge phenomenon, also restricts its practicability. In this work, based on the newly optimized high-performance soft-contact freestanding rotary TENG and "undesired" breakdown discharge, the self-powered sterilizer is presented. The experiments demonstrate that this self-powered sterilizer can effectively inactivate representative bacteria and mixed bacteria. Meanwhile, the analysis of active bacteria density and antibacterial rate reveal the effects of the system airtightness and the flow velocity of bacterial solution on sterilization performance. Furthermore, the investigations on bacterial morphology and solution composition demonstrate that the superior sterilization efficiency of self-powered sterilizer is caused by the current-induced deformation of bacteria membranes, and the generation of active chlorine and superoxide in sterilization system. As a result, the air breakdown-based multimodal sterilization endows the self-powered sterilizer with wide antibacterial spectrum without the emergence of drug resistance. This work not only provides an effective and straightforward strategy for developing self-powered sterilization systems but also offers useful insights for the optimal use of TENG-based energy resources.