Rotational wind power triboelectric nanogenerator using aerodynamic changes of friction area and the adsorption effect of hematoxylin onto feather based on a diversely evolved hyper-branched structure

In the present study, a feather rotating-TENG (FTR-TENG) was developed by analyzing the properties of nanostructure and changes in friction areas by the aerodynamic motion of naturally evolved feathers. The motion and area of surface of the feathers vary according to the interlocking effect of the aerodynamic nanostructure that was found appropriate for the FTR-TENG in the present study. Owl feather, employed in the present study, demonstrated peak output performance of FTR-TENG of 51.4 V, 4.47 μA at 1.6 cm² of friction area and 7 m/s of wind speed. In addition, the positive surface charge potential of all feathers has increased by the electrostatic adsorption of hematoxylin, the natural dye, used to maximize the electricity generation efficiency of FTR-TENG by raising the positive triboelectric series of the β-keratin structure of feather. As a consequence, the performance of triboelectric generation was increased, despite the small area and low wind power, compared to the previous results of the rotational wind power generator. The owl feather demonstrated generation of 64.3 V and 6.55 μA with 1.6 cm² of frictional area at wind speed of 7 m/s, which represented an approximately 25% increase in voltage, and 47% increase in current, compared with that before adsorption.