Graphene Oxide Passivation of Conductive Pathways in Sulfur-Rich Polymer/MXene Composites for High-Output Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Charge dissipation in dielectric layers remains a major limitation for the output and stability of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Here, we report graphene oxide (GO)-passivated conductive pathways in sulfur-rich polymer (SRP)/MXene composites as a dielectric-layer design that simultaneously enhances charge storage and suppresses leakage. The SRP matrix was first analyzed by frequency-dependent dielectric spectroscopy to identify relaxation regimes relevant to quasi-static triboelectric charges. MXene was then localized at the interfaces of SRP particles to construct a segregated composite structure with enhanced interfacial polarization. To prevent continuous electrical percolation, GO was introduced as a passivation layer at MXene junctions, separating direct MXene-MXene contacts while preserving the high-polarization interfacial architecture. Dielectric constant, loss factor, Cole-Cole analysis, and frequency-dependent conductance confirmed that GO passivation effectively reduced conductive leakage and converted the filler network from a loss-dominated pathway into a charge-storage-assisted dielectric structure. As a result, the SRP/(MXene@GO) composite film exhibited improved TENG output and operational stability compared with non-passivated SRP/MXene composites. This enhancement is attributed to the balanced combination of increased interfacial polarization, suppressed charge dissipation, and stabilized residual surface charge under repeated contact-separation operation. The results demonstrate that junction-level passivation of conductive two-dimensional fillers is an effective strategy for designing high-output polymer-composite TENG dielectrics. This work further establishes sulfur-rich polymers as processable, polarizable matrices for next-generation energy-harvesting devices.