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Abstract
Wood-based triboelectric nanogenerators (W-TENGs) have achieved significant attention due to their sustainability, abundance, and mechanical flexibility. Specifically, Balsa wood offers an excellent platform for use in sports application because of its lightweight nature and unique cellular structure. In this paper, the improvement of Balsa wood's properties through a detailed step-by-step chemical treatment is investigated. Since wood is available as a natural material in most regions, harvesting energy from it and fabricating self-powered sensors based on it requires enhancement in its physical properties so that it can be used as a triboelectric material. Furthermore, to boost electrical performance, a thin conductive layer of Cu is deposited using a sputtering method, and its improvement on the triboelectric output is thoroughly analyzed. The microstructure of the chemically treated Balsa wood is characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The microstructure of the chemically treated Balsa wood is characterized using SEM, revealing that after treatment, the empty spaces inside the wood are filled, and the cracks are sealed, resulting in enhanced flexibility and mechanical strength. Furthermore, the sputtering of a thin copper layer transforms the Balsa wood from a non-conductive to a hypo-conductive material, resulting in improving the electrical performance of the TENG. The output voltage of 2×2cm2 W-TENG, under a force of 5N with 1Hz frequence is about 1.6V. The results show improvements in impact, energy harvesting efficiency, and great application of high sensing precision in sports wearable sensors.
