The advancement of upcycled and recyclable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provides a sustainable method for capturing energy from ambient mechanical stimuli, aligning with worldwide initiatives to diminish technological waste and carbon emissions. This study investigates the synergistic potential of waste water bottle-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-natural rubber (NR) blends in TENGs, utilizing the superior flexibility and charge accumulation abilities of NR, in contrast to prior research that predominantly employed pure PET. A unique NR-PET blend-based TENG is constructed by utilizing economical, scalable techniques. The device attains a maximum open-circuit voltage of 182 V and a power density of 1.12 W/m2. The developed TENGs could be recycled up to 5 times with a marginal impact on the power density. Thus, this study, by upcycling nonbiodegradable PET waste and blending it with biodegradable NR, upholds circular economy ideals while maintaining performance. It was utilized further in an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart locking system. The system employs two TENG units to detect finger-tap patterns, which are transformed into voltage-clamped DC signals for processing by the microcontroller, facilitating the smart lock actuation. This work introduces the first multirecyclable, high-power TENG made by compatibilizing rigid, water-bottle-grade PET waste with NR, directly demonstrated in an IoT-enabled smart lock system.
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Mondal et al. (2026) studied this question.
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