Self-healable sticky porous elastomer for gas-solid interacted power generation

Abstract

A previously unknown gas-solid interacted power generation is developed using triboelectric effect. We designed an adhesive, gas-tight, and self-healing supramolecular polysiloxane-dimethylglyoxime–based polyurethane (PDPU) porous elastomer based on segmented oxime-carbamate-urea. It is an intrinsically triboelectric negative material with trapped air within closed voids, exhibiting ultrahigh static surface potential and excellent compressibility. This porous PDPU generates electricity from interactions between the trapped air and the elastomeric matrix under periodical compression. The positively charged trapped air (or other gas) dominates the tribo-electrification with PDPU, inducing electron transfer from gas to the solid polymer for electricity generation. The self-healable elastomer renders gas-solid interacted triboelectric nanogenerator, GS-TENG, with high stretchability (~1200%). The inherently adhesive surface enables adherance to other substrates, allowing mechanical energy harvesting from deformations such as bending, twisting, and stretching. GS-TENG promises a freestanding wearable functional tactile skin for self-powered sensing of touch pressure, human motions, and Parkinsonian gait.