Direct current triboelectric nanogenerators: a review

Abstract

Rapid advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) have revolutionized the world by creating a proliferation of low-power wireless devices and sensor nodes. The issue of powering these devices remains a challenge as they require regulated direct current (DC) supply for their operation. Mechanical energy scavenging mechanisms are viewed and promoted as renewable powering solutions for low-power electronics. However, such energy harvesting mechanisms generate alternating current (AC). Converting AC to DC is a critical issue as it involves using a rectifier, which is not a preferred option considering additional circuitry, power requirements along with the significant threshold voltage of even the most state-of-the-art diodes. DC Triboelectric Nanogenerators (DC-TENG) have emerged as a direct powering solution based on the triboelectric effect, similar to the conventional AC-TENG devices. Such devices incorporate specific strategies like electrostatic breakdown, mechanical switching, and dynamic Schottky junction to generate a unidirectional current. Based on these strategies, different topologies for DC-TENG devices have been developed by researchers over time. Since its inception in 2014, the study on DC-TENG has rapidly emerged and expanded. This article reviews the progress made in association with DC-TENG mechanisms and topologies, theoretical analysis, comparative study, and applications. This article also examines the challenges, recent advancements, and future research prospects in this domain.

Advanced materials for triboelectric nanogenerator

“…Karumuthil et al prepared a nanocomposite of ZnO nanorods, exfoliated graphene oxide and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed in PDMS resin to simultaneously collect piezoelectric and triboelectric with high efficiency [52]. Direct current (DC) TENG also shows a rapid development trend [53], and related material design and working mechanisms are discussed in [54].…”

Bidirectional rotating direct-current triboelectric nanogenerator with self-adaptive mechanical switching for harvesting reciprocating motion

“…While AC output rectification commonly employs an electrical rectifier composed of diodes, these rectifiers have been reported to increase system complexity and contribute to power losses [37][38][39][40]. To mitigate these issues, some studies on DC TENGs that use a mechanical rectification mechanism instead of an electrical mechanism have been reported, emphasizing the mechanical design of the system [41][42][43]. However, mechanical rectifiers generally encounter difficulty maintaining the DC output upon a change in the rotational direction, primarily because the polarities of the DC outputs of most DC TENGs with mechanical rectifiers are switched during reverse rotation.…”

Crystalline Porous Material‐Based Nanogenerators: Recent Progress, Applications, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…[ 35 ] Few more reviews on application based TENGs; chemical sensors, [ 36 ] biosensor applications, [ 37 ] wearable applications, [ 38 ] and direct current output TENG. [ 39 ] Similarly, PENG‐based reviews are based on materials, [ 40 ] polymer composites, [ 41 ] piezoelectric fibers and nanowires, [ 42 ] organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites, [ 43 ] flexible polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), [ 44 ] nanostructured materials [ 45 ] and based on applications such as biomedical, [ 46 ] power generation, [ 47 ] and wearable electronic applications. [ 48 ] The recent review article on functional metal/covalent organic framework materials for TENGs is comprehensive, covering various aspects of CPM‐based materials for nanogenerators.…”