Objective

• Apply composites and multi metals surface into triboelectric devices to increase the number of transferred charges.
   
• Fabricate a nanowire-like surface textures into triboelectric devices to expand contact areas.
   
• Design and use nanofabrication methods to fabricate a large scale triboelectric generator with above enhancing techniques.
   
• Design and fabricate a flexible self-powered triboelectric touch sensor with reasonable number of sensing pixels, which can image two dimension force distribution with high electrical outputs.
   
• Utilize transparent materials to fabricate a transparent flexible self-powered triboelectric touch sensor without dropping electrical outputs obviously.
   
• Design and fabricate a flexible self-powered piezoelectric touch sensor with micro yarns and nanocomposites. 

Approach

• Utilize nanofabrication methods to achieve a surface textures or/and composites enhanced large scaled triboelectric generator to demonstrate the superior performance of this innovated device.
   

• Use FEM method to optimize triboelectric touch sensor design.
   

• With reasonable number of sensing pixels, manufacture a flexible transparent self-powered triboelectric touch sensor by nanofabrication methods.

Impact

• Boost the whole device performance by optimization of material compositions, components dimensions and mechanical structures.
   
• Apply micro yarns and nanocomposites to fabricate a flexible self-powered piezoelectric touch sensor with based on electrospun fibers to overcome the shortage of piezoelectric devices. 

Contact

Tongyi Zhang, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Email: mezhangt@ust.hk