Possible to make van de graaf, with a negative ion generator?

I recently saw a project online called "pika shoes", where the guy took a 12v negative ion generator module, and hooked it into his shoe, with the lead wire touching his skin, and the ground wire touching the ground. He used it to charge himself up with static electricity to shock people.

It got me wondering, would it be possible to take apart one of those little 12v ion air purifiers you can find to plug into a car's cigarette lighter, and take the module out, and use it to make a van de graaf generator? It seems like it would be a much easier way than making one with all the belts and brushes and stuff.

You could probably do that but, by definition, a Van de Graaf generator uses belts and brushes and stuff. If it doesn't have those, it may still be an electrostatic voltage generator, but it won't be a Van de Graaf generator.