Through joint research with Dr. Wanchul Seung of Global Technology Research at Samsung Electronics, the research team headed by Professor Ju-Hyuck Lee of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST (President Yang Kuk) developed a static prevention technology using a triboelectric nanogenerator.
The results of this study enable improved and more effective static prevention with potential for commercialization by extending the range of triboelectric nanogenerators’ applications.
The interest in static prevention has grown as a result of recent advancements in semiconductors and small electronic components, as static damage to these components increases the defect rate.
Nowadays, businesses use a variety of anti-static items, including shoes, ionizers, antistatic carpets, and wired grounding bracelets. However, these methods result in increased equipment costs and operational inconveniences. Therefore, an efficient and simple static-prevention method is required.
The research team focused on the cause of static conditions. Due to the electric potential difference that occurs when the human body and an item come into touch, the body is typically static. Recent research on triboelectric series across materials has identified the origin of this electric potential difference.
This study provides a highly cost-efficient method with high-commercialization potential and is expected to effectively prevent static without causing inconvenience to work compared to the existing static prevention equipment.
Professor Ju-Hyuck Lee
Because the human skin is on the positive (+) side of the triboelectric series, it becomes positively charged (anode) when it contacts typically used objects such as shoes and clothes, sharply increasing the body electric potential to positive (+), causing static. The measurement results of the research team showed that the electric potential of the body increased by more than 100 V after walking for approximately 10 s.
As a solution, a method for transmitting negative charges to the body was developed. The physical energy produced by bodily motions, such as walking, can be transformed into electrical energy using a triboelectric nanogenerator.
A rectifier provides a negative charge to the body. The team observed that the electric potential of the body decreased to a negative value. The scientists also confirmed that the type and surface area of the discharger, as well as the output (voltage, current, and charge) of the triboelectric nanogenerator, affect the pace of decrease in the body’s electric potential.
Using the aforementioned parameters, a static prevention system with an adequate triboelectric nanogenerator was mounted to the sole of the shoe. Consequently, an increase in the electric potential of the body was prevented. This is significantly more efficient than existing wireless antistatic wristbands in the market.
Professor Ju-Hyuck Lee of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST stated, “This study provides a highly cost-efficient method with high-commercialization potential and is expected to effectively prevent static without causing inconvenience to work compared to the existing static prevention equipment.”
This study was conducted with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).
The findings of this study were published in “Nano Energy,” one of the top-ranked international academic journals in energy engineering (first author: Cheoljae Lee, combined master’s and doctoral program students of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering).
