am0c08213_si_001.pdf (1.18 MB)
Super Tough and Self-Healable Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Elastomer via Hydrogen Bonding Association and Its Applications as Triboelectric Nanogenerators
journal contribution
posted on 2020-06-30, 01:29 authored by Haiming Chen, J. Justin Koh, Mengmeng Liu, Pengju Li, Xiaotong Fan, Siqi Liu, Jayven C.C. Yeo, Yujun Tan, Benjamin C. K. Tee, Chaobin HePoly(dimethylsiloxane)
(PDMS) as one of the electron-drawing materials
has been widely used in triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG), which
is expected to generate electron through friction and required to
endure dynamic loads. However, the nature of the siloxane bond and
the low interchain interaction between the methyl side groups result
in low fracture energy in PDMS elastomers. Here, a strategy that combined
the advantages of the dynamic of hierarchical hydrogen bonding and
phase-separation-like structure was adopted to improve the toughness
of PDMS elastomers. By varying both stronger and weaker hydrogen bonding
within the PDMS network, a series of super tough (up to 24,000 J/m2), notch-insensitive, transparent, and autonomous self-healable
elastomers were achieved. In addition, a hydrophilic polymeric material
(PDMAS-U10) was synthesized as the conductive layer. A transparent
TENG was fabricated by sandwiching the PDMAS-U10 between two pieces
of the PDMS elastomer. Despite its hydrophilic nature, PDMAS-U10 exhibit
strong adhesion interaction with hydrophobic PDMS elastomers. As such,
a tough (16,500 J/m2), self-healable (efficiency ∼97%),
and transparent triboelectric nanogenerator was constructed. A self-powered
system employing the TENG is also demonstrated in this work.