Electronic View of Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting: Mechanisms and Applications

Abstract

Harvesting energy from rain, waves, and river flows has been an old problem for over 100 years. Hydropower is capable of the features of huge quantity, low cost, and renewability. To date, the investigations on triboelectrification have shed a light on flexible and sufficient energy harvesting methods from hydropower or ambient motions. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has become the most promising energy harvesting system in recent years. Herein, the background of hydropower is first introduced to highlight the urgent need of novel energy conversion devices. Meanwhile, the detailed working principle of contact electrification (CE) is summarized by focusing on the origins of charge and how such a charge is induced. With systematic studies, the common modes of charge generation systems are well investigated. Then, the fabrications of various types of CE‐based devices are introduced with the potential modifications to achieve high applicability in specific circumstances. In addition, the multifunctional devices for distinctive energy harvesting processes constructed by TENG are also reviewed. Due to real‐time response to environmental variation, TENG‐based self‐powered sensors and wearable healthcare devices have also become promising candidates in the scientific field as well as different aspects of daily life.

Non‐Hookean Droplet Spring for Enhancing Hydropower Harvest

“…[30][31][32][33][34][35] This is because when a droplet impacts on a dielectric substrate (such as PTFE), the capacitance of the formed hybrid electrical double layer changes with the droplet-solid contact area. [36][37][38][39][40][41] Therefore, the multi-droplet-spring can be utilized to optimize the performance of the droplet-based TENG. Accordingly, we fabricate a droplet-spring-based triboelectric nanogenerator (DS-TENG), which contains four droplets (V = 20 µL) confined between a wettability patterned PTFE film (as the lower plate) and a thin glass slide (as the upper plate), as the scheme shown in Figure 4e.…”

A Review of Contact Electrification at Diversified Interfaces and Related Applications on Triboelectric Nanogenerator

“…Therefore, it is quite necessary to systematically summarize the mechanisms, regulation schemes, and unique applications of TENG based on different interfaces, to establish a complete physical understanding of TENG [ 24 ]. Previous reviews have focused on various aspects of TENG, including the CE mechanism at the interface [ 25 ], interfacial modification strategies [ 26 ], the triboelectric series [ 27 ] of different materials and so on. However, most of the reviews only focus on specific interface mechanisms or detailed functional device applications of TENG [ 28 ].…”

Liquid‐Interfaces‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator: An Emerging Power Generation Method from Liquid‐Energy Nexus

“…The LI-TENG can also be developed as a self-powered, highly sensitive detecting system, which may greatly advance carbon neutrality, IoT, smart city, etc., in the future. [23] Since the publication of the first liquid-based TENG by Lin, et al, [24] understanding of the liquid-interfaces-based triboelectric effect has grown rapidly and this research field has been expanded greatly. Here, to summarize related studies and assist researchers to understand this new field, we reviewed the development of the mechanisms, parameters, as well as the system, and applications for liquid-interfaces-based triboelectric nanogenerator, as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The LI‐TENG can also be developed as a self‐powered, highly sensitive detecting system, which may greatly advance carbon neutrality, IoT, smart city, etc., in the future. [ 23 ]…”