Adhesive tape harvests electricity

Store-bought tape can be turned into a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to power small devices like a biosensor.

The transfer of a charge between two materials that are stuck together and then separated creates the triboelectric effect.

Researchers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) use a polypropylene and an acrylic adhesive layer to create this effect, generating 53 milliwatts of energy – enough to power 35 LED lights.

An initial study saw the researchers stack layers of double-sided tape to form a TENG but the stickiness was problematic. Replacing it with thicker, single-sided tape tackled this problem and generated more power.

‘Since contact and separation only occur on smooth surfaces with the new TENG, we no longer have to worry about sticky surfaces of double-sided tape.’ says Dr Moonhyung Jang, a research scientist at UAH.

‘One of the biggest challenges with TENG devices is their low-operating frequency (<5Hz). Our design demonstrates operation up to 300Hz.’

The TENG was placed on top of a vibrational plate that bounced the tape layers apart, generating electricity when they came back together.

The team used the TENG in two sensors – an acoustic sensor for sound waves and a self-powered biosensor that could be used for detecting arm movements.

The research, titled Wide Bandwidth High-Power Triboelectric Energy Harvesting by Scotch Tape, is Open Access in the journal ACS Omega.