Chiang Mai Journal of Science

In this work, the effect of the incorporation of silica fume nanoparticles (SiO₂) on dielectric properties and energy conversion efficiency of the calcium silicate based triboelectric nanogenerator (CS-based TENG) were investigated. SiO₂ nanoparticles with 0.1-0.5%wt concentrations were added to CS-material to form CS-SiO₂ nanocomposites which were then used to fabricate CS-SiO₂ TENG. It was found that the CS-SiO₂ 0.2%wt nanocomposite had the highest dielectric constant (εr) of 66.5, which was over 3 times higher than that of the pristine CS material (εr = 21.3). Under a vertical contact-separation operation mode, the fabricated TENG with CS-SiO₂ 0.2%wt generated the highest output voltage and current of 110 V and 8.5 μA, respectively, which can deliver the highest power density of 182 mW/m². The enhanced energy conversion performance of CS-SiO₂ 0.2%wt TENG is accounted for the addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles that can promote the formation of CSH product and reduce air voids, resulting in the synergetic enhancement of dielectric constant and compressive strength of the CS-SiO₂ nanocomposite material.