Facile synthesis of sub-10 nm ZnS/ZnO nanoflakes for high-performance flexible triboelectric nanogenerators

The fabrication of flexible and high-output triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) based on low-cost inorganic functional materials has been receiving increasing attention. In this study, sub-10 nm ZnS/ZnO nanoflakes (ZnSO NFs) were successfully synthesized using a facile method and subsequently combined with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a triboelectric layer material for the flexible TENGs (FTENGs). The prepared PDMS/ZnSO NFs-based FTENGs presented a remarkable output power density (~2.95 mW cm −2 ) and excellent flexibility (the output power density retained ~82% of its initial value after 2000 bending cycles). Moreover, when a 2 × 2 cm 2 PDMS/ZnSO NFs-based FTENG was subjected to a force applied by a human fist, it powered 70 LEDs, which confirms that the ultra-thin ZnSO NFs we developed are promising candidates for high-output FTENGs.