Laser-driven formation of ZnSnO₃/CNT heterostructure and its critical role in boosting performance of the triboelectric nanogenerator

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) as energy harvesters have been extensively investigated due to their ability to convert mechanical energy to electricity through the effective coupling of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. Herein, we introduce polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based TENG prepared using ZnSnO₃ (ZTO) nanostructure on surface-modified carbon nanotubes (SMCs), which shows high power density suitable to different types of practical applications in energy harvesting and self-power system. TENG with 0.3 wt% ZTO-SMC exhibits an output voltage of 665.63 V and a current density of 137.08 mA m⁻², corresponding to improvements of 295% and 453%, respectively, with those of a pristine PDMS-based TENG. The peak power density of the TENG is 10.57 W m⁻² at a load resistance of 7 MΩ. The formation mechanism of ZTO on the SMCs (ZTO-SMC) and its effect on the TENG performance are demonstrated using density functional theory calculations. It is demonstrated that the enhanced output performance of the PDMS-based TENG using the ZTO-SMC is attributed to the synergetic effect of the enhanced dielectric constant, press-induced polarization, and effective frictional area in the triboelectric layer. This work gives a scientific and technical understanding of not only the formation of heterostructure through interface nanoengineering but also the development of polymer-based TENGs with enhanced triboelectric performance for use in energy harvesting and self-powered systems.