When the Wind Blows, the Fire Lights Up... Development of a Triboelectric Device

The fluttering film was captured using a high-speed camera to perfectly analyze the electrical mechanism according to the movement of the film.

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A triboelectric device that generates electricity through friction between metal layers in dielectrics when the wind blows has been developed by a domestic research team. Since it can continuously supply energy, it is expected to be used as an auxiliary power source for drones or electric vehicles.

The research team led by Professor Gunyoung Jeong of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology announced on the 13th that they fabricated a wind-based triboelectric device, and the related paper was recently published in the international journal Nano Energy. A triboelectric device generates electrical energy by utilizing static electricity produced by contact friction between the film and the electrode due to the mechanical movement of the dielectric film.

The wind-based triboelectric device that was actually fabricated was connected to an LED and confirmed to operate stably at 15.1 m/s.

The device created by Professor Jeong's team inserted a metal layer connected to the lower electrode between dielectric films to enable friction caused by the wind. Then, it was placed inside an electrode configured in an up-down dual mode, allowing two friction events?one on the top and one on the bottom?per single vibration. Dielectrics do not allow charge to pass through, but they possess polarity as the dielectric's negative charges align with positive charges and positive charges align with negative charges.

The research team increased the current by 12 to 15 times compared to existing triboelectric devices by inserting metal between the dielectrics. With the power density produced more than 10 times higher than before, commercialization has become feasible. Existing devices had low current values compared to voltage, making commercialization difficult.

The team analyzed the effective contact friction between the film fluttering at over 400 Hz in the wind and the electrode using a high-speed camera. Accordingly, they perfectly analyzed the electrical mechanism according to the movement of the dielectric film.

Professor Jeong said, "This study suggests the possibility of overcoming the low output and stability issues of current wind-based triboelectric devices," adding, "In the future, it is expected to be applied in various ways not only for low-power devices (sensors, displays, etc.) in hard-to-access places such as the exterior of high-rise buildings but also as auxiliary power sources for electric vehicles and drones."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.