Suction-forced triboelectricity escalation by incorporating biomimetic 3-dimensional surface architectures

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which operate on the principles of electrostatic induction and triboelectrification, have emerged as highly promising devices for energy harvesting, offering vast potential to address the challenges of energy depletion. In this study, we present a hierarchical bio-inspired architecture designed to enhance the triboelectric effect through a physically adhesive mechanism, achieved by creating a highly deformable 3D microstructure. This three-dimensional (3D) architecture, inspired by the male diving beetle, features properties that increase the contact area and compressibility of the interface by forming conformal contact with the electrode surface in both dry and wet environments. The architecture enhances van der Waals forces and generates multiple physical adhesion forces at the interface, leading to significant charge transfer. Compared to flat surfaces as well as various 3D bio-inspired architectures such as linear-shaped pillars and mushroom-like architectures, diving beetle inspired architecture demonstrated the highest triboelectric performance, generating voltage (∼42 V) and current (∼1008 nA) in dry conditions at 16 N of force. The results of this study offer a new perspective, demonstrating that triboelectricity can be efficiently generated through the strategic design of physically adhesive structures, as opposed to conventional TENGs that rely on structureless designs or chemical adhesives.