A top-electrode-based liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting and ethanol detection

Authors

• Subrat Bhol
• Nakul Charan Sahu
• Sunit Gaurav Mohanty
• Vicky Raj Maddala
• Basanta Kumar Panigrahi
• Premkumar Bhosale

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators (LS-TENGs) offer a promising avenue for self-powered energy harvesting and sensing by exploiting contact electrification at fluid-dielectric interfaces, where droplet dynamics drive charge separation for electrical output without external power. In this work, a top-electrode LS-TENG was fabricated using a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film on a PMMA substrate with deionised water droplets, achieving an open-circuit voltage of ‒3.4 V, short-circuit current of 3.6 μA, and peak power of 1.48 nW at 100 MΩ under optimised conditions of 2 cm drop height, 45° tilt, and 50 μL volume. Performance scaled with droplet kinetics and volume due to enhanced contact area and charge transfer, while stability persisted over repeated cycles, and ethanol-water mixtures distinctly modulated outputs via reduced permittivity and wettability, enabling sensitive, battery-free detection for practical applications in environmental monitoring.

DOI

10.55713/jmmm.v36i1.2600

First Page

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Last Page

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Recommended Citation

Bhol, Subrat; Sahu, Nakul Charan; Mohanty, Sunit Gaurav; Maddala, Vicky Raj; Panigrahi, Basanta Kumar; and Bhosale, Premkumar (2026) "A top-electrode-based liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting and ethanol detection," Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals: Vol. 36: No. 1, Article 19.
DOI: 10.55713/jmmm.v36i1.2600
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/jmmm/vol36/iss1/19