Super-micro,
low-power sensors and devices that can send and receive signals and information
anytime, anywhere will become an integral part of people’s lives in a
hyper-connected world driven by the Internet of Things (IoT). The question is
how to continually supply electricity to the countless electronic devices
connected to the system. This is because it is difficult to reduce the size and
weight of the battery using the conventional way of charging and changing it.
What is
believed to provide a fundamental solution to this problem is the triboelectric
generator. It generates energy in a semi-permanent manner by inducing
triboelectricity from contact between different materials, just as how static
electricity is produced in everyday life.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that a team of researchers led by Dr. Seoung-Ki Lee at the Center for Functional Composite Material Research developed a touch sensor that enhances the triboelectrification efficiency by more than 40% by forming crumple structured molybdenum disulfide through a joint study with Chang-Kyu Jeong, Professor of Advanced Materials Engineering at JeonBuk National University.
Image of wearable touch sensor on flexible substrate. Courtesy: Korea Institue of Science and Technology (KIST)
General
triboelectric generators could not be applied to wearable electronic devices
since they would become excessively large and heavy if their capacity was
raised to generate sufficient electricity. To find a solution, there are
studies being carried out that involve applying a two-dimensional semiconductor
material that is atomically thin and has excellent physical properties as an
active layer in generating triboelectricity.
The
intensity of the triboelectricity generated varies according to the type of two
materials coming in contact. When it came to the two-dimensional materials used
in the past, the transfer of electric charges with the insulating material did
not occur smoothly, thus substantially lowering the output of energy produced
from triboelectricity.
The joint
research team formed by KIST and Jeonbuk National University adjusted the
properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a two-dimensional semiconductor, and
changed its structure to boost the triboelectricity generation efficiency. The
material was crumpled during a strong heat treatment process that is applied in
a semiconductor manufacturing process, and this resulted in a material with
wrinkles to which internal stress has been applied. Due to the wrinkles, which
help increase the contact area per unit area, the surface-crumpled MoS2 device
can generate around 40% more power than a flat counterpart. Not only that, the
triboelectricity output was maintained at steady levels in a cyclic experiment
even after 10,000 repetitions.
By applying the crumpled two-dimensional material developed as above to a touch sensor that can be used in a touchpad or touchscreen display, the joint research team came up with a lightweight and flexible self-powered touch sensor that can be operated without a battery. This type of touch sensor with high power generation efficiency is sensitive to stimulation and can recognize touch signals even at a small level of force, without any electric power.
Dr.
Seoung-Ki Lee at the Center for Functional Composite Material Research, KIST. Courtesy:
Korea Institue of Science and Technology (KIST)
Dr.
Seoung-Ki Lee from KIST said, “Controlling the internal stress of the
semiconductor material is a useful technique in the semiconductor industry, but
this was the first time that a material synthesis technique involving synthesis
of a two-dimensional semiconductor material and application of internal stress
at the same time was implemented†“It presents a way to increase the
triboelectricity generation efficiency by combining the material with a
polymer, and it will serve as a catalyst for the development of next-generation
functional materials based on two-dimensional substances.â€