Highly flexible and recyclable F–SiO2/MPU composites for self-powered active motion sensors

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with flexibility, recyclability , and high mechanical performance are highly desirable for self-powered active motion sensors. Herein, maleic anhydride and furan groups were introduced into the polyurethane and SiO 2 , respectively, to obtain furan modified SiO 2 (F–SiO 2 ) and maleic anhydride modified polyurethane (MPU). The dynamic crosslinked F–SiO 2 /MPU composites (FM) possessed the recyclability due to the Diels-Alder reaction. In addition, the mechanical properties of FM were improved due to the improvement of the interface compatibility between F–SiO 2 and MPU. Especially, at 5 wt% content (FM-5), the tensile strength and elongation at break are 7.09 MPa and 845.61%, respectively. Compared with pure MPU, it has increased by 249.26% and 176.30%, respectively. Additionally, at 3 wt% F–SiO 2 content, the short-circuit current ( Isc ), open circuit voltage ( Voc ), transferred charge ( Qsc ) and peak power density of FM-3 increased by 18.60%, 36.04%, 49.24% and 13.00%, respectively. This work offers new insights into the design and preparation of triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered active motion sensors with flexibility, and recyclability.