Electronic Waste to Energy: Self-Powered Electronic Devices and Organic Dye Degradation Using TENG-Assisted Photocatalysis

Abstract

Electronic waste (e-waste) and the use of portable electronic devices are rapidly increasing due to technological advancements globally, leading to harmful effects on the environment. E-waste causes severe environmental damage, such as the pollution of soil, water, and air. Therefore, there is an urge for effective e-waste management, recycling, and sustainable consumption. In this report, We developed high-performance triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) utilizing discarded laptop LCD screens as triboelectric layers for energy harvesting and organic dye pollutant degradation. Among all the fabricated devices, the LCDW4-TENG exhibited exceptional performance with fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) as the opposite frictional layer, yielding a Voc of ≈470 V, Isc of ≈ 143 μA, and a power density of 5.04 W m−2 at a load resistance of 1 M𝛀. The long-term stability of the device is tested over 6,000 cycles and is found to be very stable. This e-waste-based TENG is employed in the treatment of methylene blue organic dye through TENG-assisted photocatalysis. An enhanced degradation efficiency of methylene blue dye is observed with the support of TENG. This work highlights the potential of LCD waste-derived TENGs for driving self-powered electronic devices and environmental remediation applications thereby contributing to the circular economy concept.