DOI: 10.31025/2611-4135/2025.19471 ISSN: 2611-4135

Ulvan From <i>Ulva Nematoidea</i> as a Novel Active Surface Material for Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Fernando G. Torres, Adrian Urtecho
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Marine algae represent an underutilized biomass resource. Biopolymers can be extracted from different types of algae. Alginates and carrageenans are among the most common biopolymers extracted from brown and red algae. They find applications in the food and biomaterials industries, among others. However, other available marine algae are not commercially exploited. For instance, green algae from the Ulvaceae family remain largely unexploited and have no industrial applications. In particular, Ulva species can serve as a promising source for the extraction of a biopolymer known as ulvan. This work reports the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for energy harvesting applications using ulvan extracted from the green algae Ulva nematoidea. Ulvan was extracted via an alkaline method. The extracted ulvan was dissolved in water, poured into petri dishes, and dried to form thin films. TENGs were prepared using Ulvan-Kapton® and Ulvan-Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) triboelectric pairs. The Ulvan-Kapton® TENG showed a maximum voltage of 2.12 V and a short-circuit current of 1.6 µA while the Ulvan-PTFE TENG showed a maximum voltage of 43.60 V and a short-circuit current of 5.6 µA. This performance is similar to the performance of other TENGs fabricated from commercial biopolymers. This suggest that ulvan extracted from Ulva nematoidea have potential applications as active surface of TENGs for the development of sustainable energy harvesting devices. This work shows that bio-based materials from green algae can serve as a potential alternative for renewable energy generation. Further research will allow to enhance mechanical properties, electrical performance, and durability of ulvan-based TENGs to improve their practical applicability.

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