Recent Progress on Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Vibration Energy Harvesting and Vibration Sensing

Abstract

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a recent technology that reforms kinetic energy generation and motion sensing. A TENG comes with variety of structures and mechanisms that make it suitable for wide range of applications and working conditions. Since mechanical vibrations are abundant source of energy in the surrounding environment, the development of a TENG for vibration energy harvesting and vibration measurements has attracted a huge attention and great research interest through the past two decades. Due to the high output voltage and high-power density of a TENG, it can be used as a sustainable power supply for small electronics, smart devices, and wireless sensors. In addition, it can work as a vibration sensor with high sensitivity. This article reviews the recent progress in the development of a TENG for vibration energy harvesting and vibration measurements. Systems of only a TENG or a hybrid TENG with other transduction technologies, such as piezoelectric and electromagnetic, can be utilized for vibrations scavenging. Vibration measurement can be done by measuring either vibration displacement or vibration acceleration. Each can provide full information about the vibration amplitude and frequency. Some TENG vibration-sensing architectures may also be used for energy harvesting due to their large output power. Numerous applications can rely on TENG vibration sensors such as machine condition monitoring, structure health monitoring, and the Internet of things (IoT).

Evolution of Micro-Nano Energy Harvesting Technology—Scavenging Energy from Diverse Sources towards Self-Sustained Micro/Nano Systems

“…Vibration-type energy sources usually exist in the form of human kinetic energy, such as daily walking, handshaking and exercise, and kinetic energy in the environment, such as wind energy and mechanical equipment vibration [73][74][75]. To harvest energy from these vibration sources, various technologies have emerged which can be divided into microscale energy harvesting technologies and nanoscale energy harvesting technologies, according to their feature size [72,76].…”

Toward Large-Scale Energy Harvesting by a UV-Curable Organic-Coating-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator

“…Taking the advantages of light weight, simple structure, high power density and efficient low-frequency vibration energy scavenging, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) stand out as an attractive technology for efficient mechanical energy harvesting [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Based on the coupling effect of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, TENGs can efficiently collect electricity from random, irregular, and/or low-frequency energy, such as mechanical vibration [ 19 , 20 ], wind [ 21 , 22 ], body motion [ 23 , 24 ], and ocean waves [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Small Size and Low‐Cost TENG‐Based Self‐Powered Vibration Measuring and Alerting System

“…[ 13 ] Recently, outstanding features of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) such as low cost of materials, fabricability, and flexibility of structure attracted great attention to address those drawbacks. [ 14–17 ] Furthermore, TENGs can generate sufficient energy for self‐powered sensors and for powering other electronic components. [ 18 ]…”

“…[13] Recently, outstanding features of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) such as low cost of materials, fabricability, and flexibility of structure attracted great attention to address those drawbacks. [14][15][16][17] Furthermore, TENGs can generate sufficient energy for self-powered sensors and for powering other electronic components. [18] TENGs convert mechanical energy into electrical energy via contact electrification and electrostatic induction principles when two surfaces with various electronegativity are brought together and separated.…”