Elastic‐Connection and Soft‐Contact Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Superior Durability and Efficiency

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has received tremendous attention in ambient energy harvesting, especially for ocean wave energy. However, the technology is generally challenged to obtain excellent durability and high efficiency simultaneously, which primarily overshadows their further industrial‐scale applications. Here, a dual‐mode and frequency multiplied TENG with ultrahigh durability and efficiency for ultralow frequency mechanical energy harvesting via the elastic connection and soft contact design is proposed. By introducing the spring and flexible dielectric fluff to the novel pendulum‐like structural design, the surface triboelectric charges of TENG are replenished in soft contact mode under the intermittent mechanical excitation, while the robustness and durability are enhanced in non‐contact working mode. The fabricated TENG results in a continuous electrical output for 65 s by one stimulus with a high energy conversion efficiency, as well as negligible change of output performance after a total of 2 000 000 cycles. Moreover, integrated with the power management circuit, the TENG array is demonstrated to drive the electronics by effectively harvesting wind and water wave energy as a sustainable energy source. This work paves a new pathway to enhance the robustness, durability, and efficiency of the TENG that resolves the bottleneck of its practical applications and industrialization.

Spherical Micro/Nano Hierarchical Structures for Energy and Water Harvesting Devices

“…[21] To use TENGs effectively for the actual harvesting of wasted mechanical energy, three key objectives-high performance for efficient energy harvesting, high mechanical durability under applied pressure for sustainable energy harvesting, and high throughput and a low fabrication cost-should be considered. [22] To realize these objectives, researchers have developed various methods, such as applying micro-or nanopatterning to enhance the performance, [12] using soft materials to improve durability, [23] and developing simple TENG structures to reduce fabrication costs. [24] However, because the three parameters have a trade-off relationship in terms of applicable fabrication methods, the researchers could independently achieve only one or two of these three objectives.…”

Hybrid Triboelectric‐Electromagnetic Nanogenerator with a Double‐Sided Fluff and Double Halbach Array for Wave Energy Harvesting

“…The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202205011. spherical [30,31] and swing-based cylindrical TENGs [32,33] with air gaps for movement, which are some typical structures commonly employed to harvest wave energy, can easily harvest ultra-low frequency wave energy. Recently, the soft-contact operation mode of the TENG has been proven to be an effective strategy for increasing durability.…”

Magnets Assisted Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting Water Wave Energy

“…Ri Ouyang, Juan Miao, Tao Wu, Jiajia Chen, Chengfu Sun, Jing Chu, Dingming Chen, Xin Li,* and Hao Xue* DOI: 10.1002/admt.202200403 the advantages of wide distribution, nonpolluting and low cost, blue energy has attracted the growing attention of marine researchers around the world. [7][8][9][10][11] Nevertheless, compared with wind and solar energy, [12,13] efficiently capturing water wave energy has become a challenging task due to the low frequency and random direction of the waves. [14] And in terms of electromagnetic generators (EMGs), which are widely applied to harvest wave energy in recent years, generally suffer from easy corrosion, complex installation process and low efficiency, thus greatly limiting its commercial application.…”