Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15

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Nano Energy
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Electron blocking layer-based interfacial design for highly-enhanced T

triboelectric nanogenerators
Hyun-Woo Parka,b,1, Nghia Dinh Huynha,1, Wook Kima, Choongyeop Leea, Youngsuk Nama,
⁎ ⁎
Sangmin Leec, Kwun-Bum Chungb, , Dukhyun Choia,
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin-Si Gyeonggi-do 446-701, South Korea
b
Department of Physics and Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715, South Korea
c
School of Mechanical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, South Korea

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The key to enhance the output power from triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is to control the surface charge
Electron blocking layer density of tribo-materials. In this study, we introduce an electron blocking layer (EBL) between a negative tribo-
Triboelectric nanogenerators material and an electrode to dramatically enhance the output power of TENGs. For the first time, we suggest that
Surface charge density the tribo-potential can be significantly reduced by the presence of interfacial electrons; electrostatically induced
Polarization
positive charges at the interface beneath a negative tribo-material can be screened out by the electrons, thereby
Electronic structure
decreasing the surface charge density. By employing an EBL between a negative tribo-material and an electrode,
we can maintain a high surface charge density at the surface of the negative tribo-material. Furthermore, an EBL
with high permittivity can enhance the polarization of the tribo-material, resulting in an improved surface
charge density. As a proof of concept, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and aluminum (Al) are used as a negative
tribo-material and an electrode, respectively. A TiOx EBL is then deposited in between these materials by radio
frequency (RF) sputtering. Due to the coupling effects of the electron blocking and enhanced polarization, the
output peak power from the TENG with a TiOx EBL reaches approximately 2.5 mW at 3 Hz and 5 N, which is 25
times larger than that of a TENG without an EBL. To understand the improved behavior of the TENG with a TiOx
EBL, we investigate the correlations between the output behavior of the TENG and the physical properties of the
surface/interface of TiOx and PDMS (e.g., the surface potential, dielectric properties, and electronic structures).
We expect that our results can provide a novel design way to significantly improve the output performance of
TENGs.

1. Introduction
Energy harvesting technologies utilizing solar, waves, wind, or
mechanical energies have attracted considerable attention for self-
powered small electronics with low power consumption, such as sen-
sors, wearable devices, electronic skins, and body-implantable devices
[1–3]. Among them, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which are
operated by the coupling effects of triboelectrification and electrostatic
induction, are emerging due to their low-cost, light-weight, high degree
of freedom for material selection, high power, and high applicability
[4–6]. Since invented in 2012 by Wang's group [4], TENGs are operated
by four basic working modes of TENGs: vertical contact-separation, in-
plane contact-sliding, single-electrode, and freestanding triboelectric-
layer [7]. Among the various working modes, the vertical contact-se-
paration mode was first introduced and has become the primary mode
because this mode can provide a long lifetime, low-cost manufacturing
and stable/high output performance. Basically, TENGs consist of two
dissimilar dielectric films and electrodes at the top and bottom of a
device. Physical contact between the two dielectric films induces tri-
boelectric charges that can generate a potential drop when it separates
by mechanical force, which drives electron flow between the electrodes
via the external circuit [8].
For a wide range of applications using sustainable power sources,
the need for higher output performance still remains as one of the most
important and critical issues. Since the first report, many researchers
have demonstrated various methods for obtaining high-performance
TENGs, such as modification of the relative permittivity of triboelectric
materials through doping with high permittivity nanoparticles (e.g.,
TiO2, BaTiO3, and SrTiO3 [9,10], changing the surface area via nano-
patterning [11], pore formation [12], and treating the surface of

⁎
Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: kbchung@dongguk.edu (K.-B. Chung), dchoi@khu.ac.kr (D. Choi).
1
These authors are equally contributed.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.05.024
Received 10 April 2018; Received in revised form 10 May 2018; Accepted 10 May 2018
Available online 11 May 2018
2211-2855/ © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
H.-W. Park et al.
triboelectric materials using corona discharge [13] or plasma treatment
[14]. These methods can be used to obtain higher output performance,
but there is still a limit to practical application due to problems related
to the complexity, high cost, and high production time, low re-
producible and temporary nature of the treatments.
Recently, the surface and/or interface between the adjacent layer
and energy harvesting materials have also been considered as key
parameters; these can be modified and designed by simple, low cost,
practical, highly reproducible and permanent treatments methods. Cui
et al. showed the improvement of the output performance of TENGs by
adjusting the depth distribution of the triboelectric charges in the
frictional layer [15]. C. Wu et al. also demonstrated enhanced charge
density in the frictional layer by adopting reduced graphene oxide
(rGO) acting as electron-trapping sites [16]. However, those studies
have only focused on the frictional layer to improve the surface charge
density or the residence time of charge carriers in the frictional layer.
Moreover, previous TENG studies did not elucidate the detailed phy-
sical mechanism analysis according to the interface states; there is a
lack of parametric investigation regarding the output performance.
A few years ago, our group reported [17] that the piezoelectric
power generation was enhanced by inserting the polymer interlayer due
to the enhanced piezoelectric potential via free carrier passivation on
the piezoelectric surface. Based on this report to block the loss of in-
duced electric fields, we focused on the interface between the frictional
layer and the bottom electrode in TENGs for enhancing the surface
charge density of the frictional layer. Since electrostatically induced
positive charges at the interface beneath a frictional layer (i.e. a ne-
gative tribo-material) can be screened out by interfacial electrons from
the bottom electrode, the surface charge density created by triboelec-
trification can be decreased, thereby reducing the output power. In this
work, we report that the output performance of TENG can be sig-
nificantly enhanced by employing an electron blocking layer (EBL). By
employing an EBL between a negative tribo-material and an electrode,
the initial high surface charge density at the surface of a negative tribo-
material can be maintained. Furthermore, the polarization of the tribo-
material can be improved by using an EBL with high permittivity, re-
sulting in an enhanced surface charge density. As a demonstration, a
TiOx layer was sputtered on an aluminum (Al) electrode and then
polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was attached to the TiOx/Al substrate as
a negative tribo-material. To clearly understand the significantly en-
hanced output power of TENGs with a TiOx EBL, we investigated the
surface/interface characteristics of TiOx and PDMS, including the di-
electric properties, surface potential, and electronic structure. We fur-
ther examine the effects of the oxygen partial pressure (O2 p.p.) during
sputtering and the thickness of the TiOx. It was shown that the TiOx EBL
grown at an O2 p.p. of 0% with a thickness of 100 nm had an output
power that was 25 times higher than the TENG without an EBL.
2. Experimental
2.1. Deposition process of an EBL
An aluminum plate with a 3 × 3 cm2 area was used as the bottom
electrode for the creation of the vertical contact-separation mode of the
TENG. The TiOx EBL (20–140 nm thick) was deposited by an RF sput-
tering system without substrate heating. An oxygen-deficient, three-
inch TiOx (dark grey color) was used, and the RF power and oxygen
partial pressure were set to 150 W and changed from 0% to 2%, re-
spectively, which were controlled by using Ar gas and O2 gas flow rate
ratios of 20:0, 20:0.2, and 20:0.4 sccm. In order to further verify our
concept, we used AlOx and HfOx, as an EBL by using the same process.
2.2. Fabrication process of the flat PDMS layer
A flat, 200-µm thick PDMS layer was fabricated by simple imprint
lithography (SIL) technique using a doctor-blade and a Teflon template
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Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15
as a mold. The Teflon template was cleaned with acetone, ethanol, and
deionized (DI) water, consecutively, and then dried by gently blowing it
with dry nitrogen (N2) gas. The surface of the Teflon mold was then
treated with heptadecafluoro-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrahydrodecyltrichlorosilane
(HDFS) to make its surface hydrophobic. In this way, the Teflon tem-
plate mold (with a hydrophobic surface) can be utilized to prevent the
PDMS layer sticking to the mold. PDMS was prepared as a mixture of
base resin and curing agent (Sylgard 184 A: Sylgard 184B, Dow Corning
Co.) with a weight ratio of 10:1. The PDMS mixture was then laminated
to the Teflon mold by a doctor-blade technique and cured at 80 °C for
4 h. The ∼200-µm-thick, flat PDMS layer was then carefully peeled off
the Teflon mold.
2.3. Fabrication and output measurement of the TENGs
To design the vertical contact-separation mode TENG device, the
top electrode was prepared with a 3 × 3 cm2, 80-µm-thick commercial
aluminum foil, which was cleaned by ethanol and dried in stream N2
gas. The aluminum foil was then attached to the polylactic acid (PLA)
substrate with double-sided foam tape. Subsequently, to prepare the
TENG bottom electrode, a flat PDMS film (~ 200-µm-thick, 3 ×3 cm2)
was carefully laminated onto the aluminum plate (for the reference
control sample), and onto the TiOx-deposited aluminum (0.5-mm-thick)
without any air gaps in between the layers. The electrode was then
cured at 100 °C for 8 h, and the dried bottom electrode was then at-
tached to the PLA substrate with double-sided foam tape. The surface
morphology of the TiOx-deposited aluminum plate and the flat PDMS
film was examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy
(FE-SEM; LEO SUPRA 55, Carl Zeiss). To measure the TENG output, a
force was applied using a pushing tester (JIPT-100, Junil Tech). The
TENG output voltage was measured using a Tektronix MDO3052
mixed-domain oscilloscope with an input impedance of 40 MΩ. Current
measurements were captured using a Stanford Research Systems SR570
low-noise current preamplifier connected to the Tektronix MDO3052
mixed domain oscilloscope. The TENG output was measured at a
working frequency of 3 Hz and a force of 5 N, the gap in between the
two electrodes was 10 mm.
2.4. Electronic structure and surface potential measurements
Changes in the electronic structures, such as the conduction band
features and oxygen vacancies related to the band edge states below the
conduction band, were investigated using X-ray absorption spectro-
scopy (XAS). XAS experiments were performed at the 2 A beamline in
the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL), Korea. In addition, the tri-
boelectric charges of PDMS, according to the TiOx EBL, were quanti-
tatively studied using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM; NX10,
Park Systems Corp.) and contact potential difference (CPD) measure-
ments.
3. Result and discussion
The output power of TENGs is dominated by the surface charge
density formed on the surface of tribo-materials. Here, for the first time,
we suggest that TENGs might produce a reduced surface charge density
due to interfacial electrons between a negative tribo-material and an
electrode. An example can be discussed by using a simple model of a
contact-type TENG consisting of Al-PDMS/Al, where PDMS and a
bottom Al layer were used as a negative tribo-material and a bottom
electrode, respectively (see Fig. 1). As shown in Fig. 1a-(i), the negative
surface charges (σ) created by triboelectrification induce positive
charges beneath the negative tribo-material. Due to the abundance of
free electrons at the interface, the positive charges can be screened out,
thereby causing a decrease in the surface charge density on the surface
of the negative tribo-material. However, such screening troubles can be
prevented by employing an electron blocking layer (EBL) between the
H.-W. Park et al. Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15

Fig. 1. Coupling effects of the EBL and high permittivity to dramatically enhance the output power of TENGs. (a) Schematic illustration of the working principle of
TENGs and the role of the multifunctional TiOx EBL, (b) charge density, (c) COMSOL Multiphysics simulation results, and (d) output voltage and current of the TENGs
with and without the TiOx EBL.

negative tribo-material and the bottom electrode, as shown in the right
schematic of Fig. 1a-(i). Since an EBL has much fewer carriers than Al,
the screening problem can be overcome. Thus, the surface charge
density in a TENG with an EBL can be maintained, producing an en-
hanced output power.
As mentioned in the introduction, the surface charge density can be
improved by using high-permittivity particles in the negative tribo-
materials, to form a composite, due to the enhanced polarization.
Normally, EBLs are oxide materials (e.g., aluminum oxide (Al2O3), ti-
tanium oxide (TiO2), and hafnium oxide (HfO2)), and their permittivity
is very high. Therefore, an EBL with a high permittivity can further
enhance the output power by improving the polarization of tribo-ma-
terials, as shown in Fig. 1a-(ii). Finally, we expect that the coupling
effects of electron blocking and enhanced polarization can be accom-
plished by employing an EBL with high permittivity to significantly
enhance the output performance of TENGs.
In order to prove our concept, we employed a TiOx EBL between
PDMS and an Al electrode; the relative permittivity (εr) of this EBL was
carefully examined. First, we analyzed the changes of the surface
morphology caused by the TiOx deposition. As seen in Figure. S1
(Supporting Information), the FE-SEM images showed no significant
changes in the surface morphology after the deposition of a 100-nm-
thick TiOx film on the Al substrate. Additionally, to measure the εr
values of the TiOx EBL and PDMS, capacitance-voltage (C-V) analysis
was performed on the metal-insulator-metal (M-I-M) structure, as
shown in Figure. S2 (Supporting Information). The capacitance value of
the TiOx film with a thickness of 100 nm was measured by using a top
electrode with an area of 0.049 mm2. The εr values of the TiOx film and
PDMS were calculated by from the C-V curves according to the fol-
lowing equation:
d film ∙Cmax
εr =
Aε0 (1)
Here, dfilm is film thickness, Cmax is maximum capacitance, A is an
area of the top electrode, and ε0 is permittivity of free space. As shown
in the equation, since the capacitance values are inversely proportional
to the thickness of the film, PDMS with a thickness of 200 µm has a very
small capacitance because of the thick thickness. To overcome this
problem, the top electrode on the PDMS was increased in size to
28.27 mm2. The εr values of the TiOx film and PDMS were ~ 21 and ~
4.7, respectively, which are reasonable compared to a previous report
[18,19]. Finally, it was confirmed that we can successfully prepare a
TiOx EBL with a high εr.
To demonstrate the concept of the coupling effects for electron
blocking and enhanced polarization, we compared the surface charge
density of TENGs with and without a TiOx EBL. As shown in Fig. 1b, a

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H.-W. Park et al. Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15

normal TENG without an EBL showed a surface charge density of about

15 µC/m2 at a frequency of 3 Hz and a pushing force of 5 N. Surpris-
ingly, we found that the surface charge density of a TENG with an EBL
reached 30 µC/m2, which is 2.5 times higher than the value demon-
strated by just a TiOx layer. To theoretically understand the output
power enhancement of the TENG with a TiOx EBL, a COMSOL Multi-
physics simulation was conducted. Fig. 1c shows the corresponding
results for the triboelectric potential distributions of TENGs with and
without a TiOx EBL. The details of the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation
parameters and equations are provided in the Supporting Information.
As a result, the COMSOL simulations showed that the TENG with the
TiOx EBL has a triboelectric potential distribution that is 2.5 times
higher than the TENG without a TiOx EBL.
Finally, we compared the experimental results of the output voltage
and current. A TENG without an EBL produced a peak output voltage of
~ 50 V and a peak output current of 2 µA. As expected, a TENG with a
TiOx EBL showed dramatically enhanced output power, where the
output voltage and current were about 272 V and 9.1 µA, respectively.
In order to clearly demonstrate the effect of the EBL on other TENG
systems, we performed additional tests on TENGs with and without
AlOx HfOx, and TiOx EBL. As shown in Figure. S3 (Supporting
Information), the output performance of all TENGs with an EBL were
significantly enhanced compared to TENGs without an EBL. We also
found that the output performances of TENGs are strongly related to the
dielectric constant of each EBL material. This result verifies that our
concept of employing an EBL is not limited to TiOx but can be used with
other materials that have a low electron density and a high relative
permittivity.
Fig. 2. The different surface potentials of PDMS: (a) without and (b) with a
To demonstrate the present approach of enhancing the output per- TiOx EBL. Measurements were made before and after friction with the top Al
formance of TENGs by applying a TiOx EBL, the amount of triboelectric electrode.
charge on the PDMS surface with and without a TiOx EBL is investigated
by contact potential difference (CPD) analysis, before and after contact
changes in the surface properties, due to changes in the oxygen partial
with the top Al electrode. The CPD analysis method served to measure
pressure, were observed in the SEM images, as shown in Figure. S4
the different contact potentials induced on the material surface before
(Supporting Information). Interestingly, as the oxygen partial pressure
and after a contact and separation cycle. Before friction with the top Al
increased during the deposition process of the TiOx EBL, the output
electrode, the surface potential values of the PDMS without and with
performances of the TENG decreased, as shown in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b.
the TiOx EBL were 815 mV (Fig. 2a) and 395 mV (Fig. 2c), respectively.
In order to elucidate the cause of this trend, the correlation between
The most plausible origin of this remarkable reduction in the surface
the electronic structure of the TiOx EBL and the energy conversion
potential of the PDMS with the TiOx EBL can be attributed to the en-
mechanism of the TENG with the TiOx EBL were investigated. Fig. 3c
hanced polarization of PDMS caused by the TiOx EBL, canceling out the
shows the hybridized molecular orbital structures in the conduction
electrons present on the PDMS surface. In other words, a low surface
band of the TiOx EBL as a function of the oxygen partial pressure
potential value before friction with the top Al electrode can indicate
measured by XAS. The normalized intensities of the oxygen K-edge
that PDMS polarization is enhanced.
spectra of TiOx EBLs directly reflect the molecular orbital hybridization
After friction with the top Al electrode, the surface potential value
between the Ti orbital (3d and 4 sp states) and O orbital (2p states)
of the PDMS without the TiOx EBL was 954 mV (Fig. 2b), which was
based on the local atomic bonding symmetry [20]. The oxygen K-edge
130 mV greater than it was before friction. However, in the case of
spectra could be de-convoluted into six distinct Gaussian absorption
PDMS with the TiOx EBL, the surface potential value of 1035 mV
peaks, especially for the second derivative of the oxygen K-edge spectra,
(Fig. 2d) was significantly increased by 640 mV (compared to what it
which is used to determine the energy level of the molecular orbital
was before friction with the top Al electrode). The significant change in
states, as shown in Fig. 3c (blue line). The qualitative energetic orders
the surface potential with the TiOx EBL, as determined by the CPD
of the corresponding hybridized molecular orbital between Ti 3d, 4sp
method analysis, is reasonable considering the previous output per-
and O 2p are characterized as 2 t2 g (Ti 3d; O 2pπ) < 3eg (Ti 3d; O
formance and charge density of the TENG with the TiOx EBL. Based on
2pσ) < 1a1 g (Ti 4s; O 2pσ) < 3 t1 u (Ti 4p; O 2p) [21]. As the oxygen
the above results, the TiOx EBL can maintain a high surface charge
partial pressure increased from 0% to 2%, the relative area of the
density at the surface of PDMS due to the coupling effect of electron
conduction band decreased. This extended conduction band area can
blocking and enhanced polarization. More discussion is provided below
enhance charge transport due to the increase in the unoccupied ab-
by considering the correlation between the output performance of the
sorption states caused by adding the hybridized states. Fig. 3d shows
TENG and the electronic structures (e.g., the conduction band features
another meaningful result regarding the analysis of the band edge state
and oxygen vacancy-related band edge state below the conduction band
below the conduction band. As the oxygen partial pressure decreased
of the TiOx EBL) according to the oxygen partial pressure and EBL
from 2% to 0%, the oxygen vacancy-related band edge states were
thickness.
dramatically reduced. This trend can be clearly seen based on the re-
Fig. 3a and b show the output voltage and current characteristics of
sults of the relative area of the band edge state in Fig. 3e. These changes
the TENG with a TiOx EBL as a function of the oxygen partial pressure
in the amount of oxygen vacancy-related band edge states can affect the
during the deposition process of the EBL (measured under a relative
electron blocking properties of the TiOx EBL; this is the case because the
humidity of ~ 38%). All TENGs with TiOx EBLs increased the output
degree of negative charge trapping, including electrons and oxygen
voltage and current compared to the TENG without the TiOx EBL, re-
ions, can change (Fig. 3f). As a result, the increase of the band edge
gardless of the oxygen partial pressure. In addition, no significant

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H.-W. Park et al. Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15

Fig. 3. Effects of the output power of TENGs caused by the oxygen partial pressure. (a) Output voltage and (b) current of the TENGs with a TiOx EBL as a function of
the oxygen partial pressure during the deposition process of the EBL (measured under a relative humidity of ~ 38%). (c) Deconvoluted oxygen K-edge XAS spectra,
(d) enlargement of the XAS spectra for band edge states below the conduction band, and (e) relative area of oxygen vacancy-related band edge state of the TiOx EBL as
a function of the oxygen partial pressure. (f) Schematic illustration of the electron trap mechanism according to the oxygen vacancies.

13
H.-W. Park et al.
Fig. 4. Effects on the output power of TENGs caused by varying the TiOx thickness. (a) Output voltage and (b) current of the TENGs with a TiOx EBL as a function of
the TiOx EBL thickness (measured under a relative humidity of ~ 65%). (c) Normalized oxygen K-edge XAS spectra and (d) the relative ratio of eg/(eg + t2g) states
and the relative molecular orbital ratio of 4sp/(3d+4sp) as a function of the TiOx EBL thickness.
states is correlated with the improvement of the electron blocking
properties of the TiOx EBL.
Fig. 4a and b show the output voltage and current characteristics of
the TENG with a TiOx EBL as a function of the EBL thickness (measured
under a relative humidity of ~ 65%). In particular, the TiOx EBL ac-
cording to the thickness was deposited at 0% oxygen partial pressure. In
addition, the TiOx EBL deposited on the Al substrate showed different
colors for different TiOx EBL thicknesses, as observed in the optical
images shown in Figure. S5 (Supporting Information). This general
phenomenon is due to changes of the interference effect caused by the
different film thicknesses. As the EBL thickness increased from 20 nm to
100 nm, the output voltage and current significantly increased from
128 V and 3.5 μA to 272 V and 9.1 μA, respectively. However, at TiOx
EBL thicknesses over 100 nm, the output voltage and current are
drastically decreased to 162 V and 3.88 μA, respectively. To investigate
how the physical structure of the TiOx film changes at different thick-
nesses, XRD analysis was performed, as shown in Figure. S6 (Supporting
Information). The XRD spectra was measured by a θ–2θ X-ray dif-
fractometer and normalized by Al (200) from an Al substrate. The XRD
results indicate that the thickness of the TiOx film has no effect on the
physical structure; an amorphous structure was preserved. When the
thickness of the EBL increases, the electron blocking properties can be
improved due to the increase in the relative amount of oxygen va-
cancies. However, considering the total capacitance of capacitors con-
nected in series, the thickness of the TiOx EBL is inversely proportional
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Nano Energy 50 (2018) 9–15
to the total capacitance:
εr , PDMS × εr , TiOx
ctot ∝
(εr , TiOx × dPDMS)+(εr , PDMS × d TiOx )
Here, Ctot is the total capacitance, εr,TiOx and εr,PDMS are the relative
permittivity of each material, and dTiOx and dPDMS are the thicknesses of
each layer. Therefore, the change in the thickness of the TiOx EBL has a
trade-off relationship between the electron blocking properties and the
total capacitance. Furthermore, to understand the change in the TENG
output performance according to the EBL thickness in terms of the
electronic structure, hybridized molecular orbital structure analysis was
also performed, as shown in Fig. 4c. The relative area of eg/t2 g+eg and
4sp/3d+ 4sp molecular orbitals were calculated based on the relative
area under each of the corresponding Gaussian curves (as shown in
Fig. 3(c)). The ratio of the eg state and 4sp state of the conduction band
changes as the thickness of the EBL is altered. The increase in the
number of eg states indicates enhanced molecular orbital symmetry of
z2 and x2 −y2 in the 3d orbital, which induces the uniform distribution
of d-orbital states. This change in d-orbital ordering can enhance the
charge transport due to the symmetric distribution of unoccupied states
in the five-fold directional 3d orbital [22,23]. The other increase in the
relative ratio of the 4sp orbital can also cause an increase in charge
transport due to the enhancement of the spherically symmetrical s-or-
bital compared to the directional d-orbital [24]. Considering the re-
lative ratio of eg and the 4sp state based on the XAS results, when the
H.-W. Park et al.
thickness of the TiOx EBL is 100 nm, optimized charge transportation is
expected (Fig. 4d). This superior charge transportation with a 100-nm-
thick TiOx EBL can lead to easily move of electron within the TiOx EBL.
Even if with the same amount of oxygen vacancies in the TiOx EBL, it is
possible to reduce the trapping time (τT) of electrons by the oxygen
vacancies due to the easy transportation of the electrons and increase
the trap velocity (νT), which can improve the electron blocking prop-
erties of the TiOx EBL.
4. Conclusions
In summary, for the first time, we demonstrated the critical effects
of an EBL on TENG performance. Due to the coupling effect of the
electron blocking and enhanced polarization, a TiOx EBL with a high
permittivity enhanced the TENG output power by a factor of 25 (272 V
and 9.1 µA at 3 Hz and 5 N). To understand the behaviors of the TENG
performance when using an EBL, we controlled the oxygen partial
pressure and the thickness of the TiOx EBL during growth. Finally, the
TiOx layer grown at an O2 p.p. of 0% with a thickness of 100 nm pro-
vided the best performance. Based on electronic structure studies, it was
determined that the oxygen vacancies and the charge transport prop-
erties of the TiOx EBL were critical parameters for enhancing the
electron blocking characteristics, producing significantly enhanced
output powers in the TENGs. Thus, employing an EBL in TENGs may
provide a promising way to create higher output powers from TENGs
through a highly reproducible and cost-effective method.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP)
(No.2016R1A4A1012950), (No.2014M3A7B4052202), (No.
2016R1A6A1A03012877), and (No. 2017R1A6A3A11029892).
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the
online version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.05.024.
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