Gas-liquid two-phase flow-based triboelectric nanogenerator with ultrahigh output power

Abstract

Solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerators (SL-TENGs) have shown promising prospects in energy harvesting and application from water resources. However, the low contact separation speed, small contact area, and long contacting time during solid-liquid electrification severely limit their output properties and further applications. Here, by leveraging the rheological properties of gas-liquid two-phase flow and the Venturi-like design, we circumvent these limitations and develop a previously unknown gas-liquid two-phase flow-based TENG (GL-TENG) that can achieve ultrahigh voltage and volumetric charge density of 3789 volts and 859 millicoulombs per cubic meter, respectively. With a high-power output of 143.6 kilowatts per cubic meter, a 24-watt commercial lamp can be directly lighted by a continuous-flow GL-TENG device. The high performance displayed SL-TENGs in this work provides a promising strategy for the practical application of solid-liquid TENGs in energy harvesting and sensing applications.

Contact Electrification Behaviors of Solid–Liquid Interface: Regulation, Mechanisms, and Applications

“…For nonencapsulated solid–liquid TENGs, another way to increase the electrical output is to increase the contact‐separation speed between liquid and solid. As shown in Figure , a new gas‐liquid two‐phase flow‐based TENG (GL‐TENG) that combines contact electrification and the breakdown effect was developed by Y. Dong et al [ 55 ] It produced a high current output of 867 A and a high voltage output of 3,789 V, which is roughly 430 and 1,890 times higher than those obtained with the controlled device, respectively. With 1.0 mL of liquid, 1,500 LEDs can be powered directly from the GL output (Figure 13a–h).…”

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 55 ] Copyright 2020, American Association for the Advancement of Science.…”

“…The authors declare no conflict of interest. Author Water-TENG Droplet 10 2014 Z. Lin et al [69] LGL-TENG Wave 160 2014 G. Zhu et al [70] TF-TEG Wave 230 2015 X. Zhao et al [51] SWING stick (TENG) Flow 45 2015 D. Choi et al [71] LL-TENG Droplet 1.5 2017 D. Choi et al [12e] U-shaped TENG Flow 213 2017 X. Zhang et al [72] H-TENG Droplet 100 2018 Q. Zhang et al [73] Solar cell and TENG Droplet 2.14 2018 Y. Liu et al [74] FB-TENG Wave 46 2018 D. Kim et al [75] U-tube TENG Wave 350 2018 L. Pan et al [76] W-TENG Flow 25 2019 Y. Liu et al [77] LST-TENG Flow 40 2019 X. Zhang et al [16c] PF-TENG Flow 20.93 2019 R. Kumar et al [15b] DEG Droplet 150 2020 W. Xu et al [22b] Flu-TENG Flow 29.7 2020 J. Ahn et al [78] VEEG Flow 904 2020 N. Zhang et al [79] SE-DEG Droplet 60 2021 N. Zhang et al [80] WT-TENG Wave 223 2021 H. Wu et al [13b] Generation device Droplet 500 2021 J. Chung et al [81] GL-TENG Gas-liquid two-phase flow 3789 2022 Y. Dong et al [55]…”

“…h) One 24 W commercial lamp continuously powered by four continuous flow GL-TENG devices connected in series. Reproduced with permission [55]. Copyright 2020, American Association for the Advancement of Science.…”

Recent progress in self-powered sensor based on liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator

“…The L-S TENG provides a promising technology for harvesting mechanical energy from liquid flow into electricity. Based on the source of the liquid dynamics, the L-S TENG can be divided into three main modes, including droplet, 15, 42, 45, 53-55, 60, 61, 63, 64, 66-69, 71, 72, 74-80 wave, 33, 44, 49-52, 56, 59, 65, 81-83 and flowbased 19,20,58,62,73,84 modes. The most important source for L-S TENGs is the water, which exists everywhere in nature with an enormous amount, such as raindrops, rivers, tides, and ocean waves.…”