Antibacterial triboelectric membrane-based highly-efficient self-charging supercapacitors

Supercapacitors as energy storage components can store but cannot generate electric energy, resulting in the periodical charging issues when sustainably powering electronic devices due to limited capacities. Here we report the feasibility of utilizing two supercapacitors to simultaneously generate and store electric energy by themselves for addressing the periodical charging issues. Flexible supercapacitors were fabricated by using activated carbons as electrodes and polybenzimidazole as both the separator and the solid polymer electrolyte when doped with H3PO4. Through the coupling of contact triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, the self-charging capability has been realized due to the ambient wind-induced vibrations of a triboelectric membrane between the two supercapacitors, where it can be easily charged up to 1 V in about 33 s. This research can provide important applications in self-powered electronics and smart windows.