Dielectric Polarization-Driven Energy Amplification in 2D Nanostructure-Embedded PVC Gel TENGs for Tribo-Resistive Sensing Applications

Abstract

Plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) gels are prototypical soft ionic polymers that combine strongly negative charge polarity with inherently high permittivity; however, their mobile ions impose substantial dielectric loss and leakage currents, which limit the output of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Here, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets are embedded as 2D capacitive layers in a PVC gel, where they immobilize excess ions and add interfacial polarization, giving a dielectric constant of 32 at 1 kHz while lowering the dissipation factor (tan delta) by 65% relative to the pristine gel. The optimized GO-doped gel TENG delivers 282 V, 20.1 mu A, and 612 mu W/cm2-approximately 2.3, 2.0, and 2.5 times the values of the pristine PVC gel, respectively. A single GO-PVC gel layer simultaneously functions as both dielectric and electrode, powering a self-powered tribo-resistive sensor that pinpoints pressures up to 800 kPa over a 5 x 5 virtual grid, with a spatial resolution of approximate to 1.8 mm and pressure sensitivities of 194 mV/kPa (0-200 kPa) and 25 mV/kPa (200-800 kPa). By suppressing ion-driven loss while amplifying polarization, this 2D capacitive-layer strategy is transferable to other ionic-gel systems-including ionic-liquid gels and ionomers-charting a versatile route toward high-output soft TENGs for energy-autonomous wearables and electronic skin.