A Liquid Metal Triboelectric Nanogenerator (LM-TENG) Using CF4/O2 Plasma Treated Nonwetting Polymer Friction Layer and Gallium Alloy Liquid Metal

We report a novel liquid metal-based triboelectric nanogenerator (LM-TENG) using a CF
4
/O
2
plasma-etched Kapton friction layer with hierarchical micro/nano textured surface as a nonwetting surface against the gallium-based liquid metal alloys in an ambient environment. A surface of the sample with a pristine Kapton friction layer became wetted within 1 second of testing while showing measured open circuit voltage (OCV) dropped by ~90% after 5 seconds. In contrast, the sample using the plasma-etched Kapton friction layer was never wetted even after 48 hours of continuous testing and showed a peak power of 152 nW.