Fluorinated polymetric sulfur for high efficient triboelectric energy harvesting

초록

The halogenic elements have a larger electron affinity than any other group, allowing them to accommodate extra electrons for triboelectric energy harvesting. However, because halogenic elements are not homopolymerizable, carbon-based polymers (i.e. PTFE, PVDF) are often employed for structural use and mechanical integrity at the expense of reduced electron affinity, intrinsically sacrificing triboelectric energy harvesting. Herein, Fluorinated polymeric sulfur demonstrated 6-fold and 3-fold increase in triboelectric energy outputs in voltage and currents respectively in comparison with commercial PTFE film. Such high energy harvesting was achieved by high electron affinity of sulfur and by its hypervalency via expanded-octet which provided coordination of two additional bonds with halogens compared to carbon. This yellow chemistry-based molecular engineering paves a way for a new class of triboelectric materials toward low-cost, eco-friendly, and scalable energy harvesting applications.