3D Printed SnS2/SnS-Based Nanocomposite Hydrogel as a Photoenhanced Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Recent advancements in printing technologieshave led to new fabricationtechniques for the development of various flexible, compact, wearable,and portable energy harvesters and self-powered devices. In particular,the three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology for a nanogeneratorhas become advantageous due to its low cost, simplicity, and highprecision in fabricating complicated structures. Therefore, we reporta 3DP-based photoinduced triboelectric nanogenerator (PTNG) fabrication,a hybrid version of a conventional triboelectric nanogenerator. Here,a 3D printed poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite hydrogel (3DPH)with photoactive SnS2/SnS nanoflakes is used as a tribo-positivematerial and copper foil as a tribo-negative material for PTNG application.Under light illumination, the as-fabricated PTNG with an optimizedweight percentage of SnS2/SnS displays the open-circuitvoltage (V (oc)) enhancement from 29 to 37.5V and short-circuit current (I (sc)) enhancementfrom 1.23 to 1.58 mu A. In addition, the power density of thedevice is observed at 5.4 mu W/cm(2) under illuminationconditions at the external load of 60 M omega. This enhanced performanceof the as-fabricated PTNG is attributed to the mutual coupling effectand improved interfacial interactions between the SnS2/SnSnanoflakes and PVA under the influence of light illumination, leadingto a charge-trapping mechanism. The outstanding performance and stabilityof the as-fabricated PTNG surpassing all similar recent reports, establishit as an effective hybrid platform for constructing multifunctionalself-powered devices.