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Finite Element and Experimental Analysis of Thickness-Driven Electrical Performance Enhancement in Copper/PTFE Sliding Free-standing Triboelectric Nanogenerators
1Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, SHAH ALAM, Selangor, Malaysia
2Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
3Ionic Material and Devices (iMADE), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
4College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
5Department of Physics, Prince of Songkla University, Hatyai, Songkhla, Thailand
6Renewable Eenrgy Program PETRONAS Group , Petronas Research Sdn Bhd, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
*Email Address : irsyadmissnan@gmail.com
Abstract : Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) transform mechanical motion into electrical energy, rendering them outstanding energy harvesters for autonomous, compact electronic device systems. Although dielectric thickness has been extensively studied in relation to triboelectrification efficiency, the influence of metal electrode thickness, particularly in free-standing (FS) sliding mode, remains insufficiently explored. This study rigorously examines the coupled effects of copper electrode thickness and PTFE dielectric thickness on the electrical performance of sliding FS-TENGs via a combined Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and experimental validation approach. Finite element simulations demonstrate that reducing the thickness of copper electrodes increases the electric potential due to weakened electrostatic shielding. Experimental validations confirm that optimized thicknesses of 0.05 mm copper and 0.13 mm PTFE produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of 24.43 V, representing a 60% improvement over thicker layers. This finding shows that electrode thickness is a vital design factor that can enable improved TENG performance while reducing material consumption and fabrication costs.
Keywords : COMSOL, copper, free-standing, PTFE, triboelectric nanogenerator