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배진호 교수팀, ‘입자 마찰전기 나노발전 소자’ 개발

Professor Bae Jin-ho and his team developed 'Particle Triboelectric Nanogenerator'

A particle triboelectric nanogenerator has been developed by researchers at Jeju National University, which enables energy harvesting more efficiently in response to all movements so that it can be used as an auxiliary power source for portable wearable electronic devices.

The research team led by Bae Jin-ho, a professor of marine system engineering at Jeju National University (head of the BK+ Big Data-Based Marine Convergence Professional Team), announced on June 15th that it has developed a triboelectric nanogenerator using cellulose particles with a diameter of 6 μm (micrometer) or less and eco-friendly gelatin capsules that quickly decompose.

Triboelectric nanogenerators are devices that can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy by using charging phenomena that occur when two objects are in contact or have friction, and energy harvesting is possible only in one or two directions of motion where friction can occur between elements.

The team overcame the limitations of a triboelectric nanogenerator that can harvest energy only in these limited operations. Professor Bae Jin-ho and his team first identified that cellulose particles can move freely in a gelatin capsule and produce friction electricity as soon as they hit the gelatin wall, naming this mechanism a particle triboelectric nanogenerator. The study suggests that very small particles can easily move even at small forces in any direction, and therefore can produce electrical energy in all directions. The manufactured triboelectric nanogenerator generates 5.488 MW of electricity by one capsule device, and 70 MW of electricity by connecting 16 capsules in a parallel array. In particular, the energy efficiency is excellent at up to 74.35%.

Professor Bae's team explained, "Based on these research results, it is judged that the nano power generator developed this time can be used as a more efficient auxiliary power source for wearables because portable wearable electronic devices move randomly rather than in a certain direction."

The research findings were published in 'Nano Energy’ (100 volumes), a world-renowned international journal. The paper is titled, “Particle Triboelectric Nanogenerator (P-TENG)” (corresponding author Bae Jin-ho; lead author, Ph.D. Sakib Kazi Muhammad;and co-author Shaukat Riyan Ali, who is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program at JNU).

This research was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT as a mid-level research and overseas excellent science attraction project, and as a Jeju Sea Grant project by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.