Enhancement of Output Performance of Triboelectric Nanogenerator by Switchable Stimuli in Metal–Organic Frameworks for Photocatalysis

Precise control of the structure of crystalline materials is an efficient strategy to manipulate the fundamental performance of solids. In metal–organic framework (MOF) materials, this control can be realized by reversible cation-exchange through chemically driven changes in the crystalline state. Herein, we reported that the reversible structural transformations between an anionic Zn-MOF (1) and a topologically equivalent bimetallic Zn/Co-MOF (2) were accomplished. Both MOFs powders and their hybrid composites were used as positive electrode materials to assemble triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). The results demonstrated that the output performance of the Zn/Co-MOF-TENG was effectively improved because the introduction of Co ions makes electron transfer easier. Moreover, the output performance of the TENGs based on MOF@PVDF (PVDF = polyvinylidene fluoride) composite films showed that the Zn/Co-MOF@PVDF-TENG possessed much higher output than these corresponding film-based and MOF-based TENGs. As a practical application, the superior output of Zn/Co-MOF@PVDF-TENG was used to light an ultraviolet lamp plate for the [2 + 2] photochemical cycloaddition of organometallic macrocycles.