Quantifying contact status and the air-breakdown model of charge-excitation triboelectric nanogenerators to maximize charge density

Surface charge density is the key factor for developing high performance triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). The previously invented charge excitation TENG provides a most efficient way to achieve maximum charge output of a TENG device. Herein, criteria to quantitatively evaluate the contact efficiency and air breakdown model on charge excitation TENG are established to enhance and evaluate charge density. The theoretical results are further verified by systematic experiments. A high average charge density up to 2.38 mC m−2 is achieved using the 4 μm PEI film and homemade carbon/silicone gel electrode in ambient atmosphere with 5% relative humidity. This work also reveals the actual charge density (over 4.0 mC m−2) in a TENG electrode based on quantified surface micro-contact efficiency and provides a prospective technical approach to improve the charge density, which could push the output performance of TENG to a new horizon.