Synthesis of ultra-thin tellurium nanoflakes on textiles for high-performance flexible and wearable nanogenerators

Abstract

We report that ultra-thin tellurium (Te) nanoflakes were successfully grown on a sample of a gold-coated textile, which then was used as an active piezoelectric material. An output voltage of 4V and a current of 300nA were obtained from the bending test under a driving frequency of 10Hz. To test the practical applications, Te nanoflake nanogenerator (TFNG) device was attached to the subject's arm, and mechanical energy was converted to electrical energy by means of periodic arm-bending motions. The optimized open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density of approximately 125V and 17μA/cm2, respectively, were observed when a TFNG device underwent a compression test with a compressive force of 8N and driving frequency of 10Hz. This high-power generation enabled the instantaneous powering of 10 green light-emitting diodes that shone without any assistance from an external power source. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.