New high-performance triboelectric materials fabricated from by-products of petroleum refining process
(PHYSorg.com Nanotechnology)

Triboelectric generation is an energy harvesting technique that generates electricity through induction of triboelectric effects using discarded physical energy. Materials employed to triboelectric generators (TEG) are classified positive or negative according to their value of electron affinity; negative materials generally employ fluorinated carbon-based polymers. Yet, most of the research for improving TEG performance focus mainly on structural improvements of device such as the multi-layer device structures, testing triboelectricity in a vacuum condition, and asymmetric device design rather than the development of novel polymeric materials.