High Energy Storage Efficiency Triboelectric Nanogenerators with Unidirectional Switches and Passive Power Management Circuits

Abstract

The high‐voltage and low‐current output characteristics of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) make itself difficult for directly powering small electronic devices. A power management circuit (PMC) is indispensable to address the impedance mismatch issue. In this paper, a TENG with a unidirectional switch (TENG‐UDS) is developed, which can provide the maximized output energy regardless of the load resistance. A passive PMC with a simple structure and high energy storage efficiency is designed based on this TENG‐UDS, which is made up of all passive electronic components, including an inductor, a diode, and a capacitor. Theoretical calculations show that the theoretical energy storage efficiency of the passive PMC can reach 75.8%. In the actual experiment of charging a capacitor, the measured energy storage efficiency can reach 48.0%. It is demonstrated that the electronic watch and high‐brightness quantum dot light‐emitting diode can be driven by using the TENG‐UDS with the passive PMC, which cannot be achieved without the PMC. The passive PMC for TENG‐UDS has the advantages of simple structure, low energy consumption, and high energy storage efficiency, which provides a promising method for the power management and practical application of TENG.

Boost the Performance of Triboelectric Nanogenerators through Circuit Oscillation

“…Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), as a novel mechanical energy harvesting technique invented by Wang et al, has proven to be an effective power alternative for small electronics and attracted plenty of interests in recent years. The other one is from the power management perspective, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] which is more general.Over the past few years, extensive efforts have been put into the power management of TENG for enhancing its output performance. One way is from the device perspective, for example, choosing appropriate materials, designing the device structure, etc., [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] which is effective but needs specific optimization.…”

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] To make TENG more practical and compatible to the commercial electronics, it is always desirable to improve the output performance. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Zi et al first proposed the concepts of "figure of merits" and "cycles for maximum energy output (CMEO)," [28] which provide the guideline for the maximum energy output per cycle of a TENG device. The other one is from the power management perspective, [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] which is more general.…”

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Zi et al first proposed the concepts of "figure of merits" and "cycles for maximum energy output (CMEO)," [28] which provide the guideline for the maximum energy output per cycle of a TENG device. Recently, Qin et al reported an interesting TENG system which can eliminate the requirement of impedance matching, [31] however, their system is only applicable for elaborate devices.Herein, in both theory and experimental verification, we report a novel power management strategy named oscillation assisting TENG (OA-TENG), which can exceed the CMEO limit of individual TENG under arbitrary load resistance. However, the further approaching or even beyond the CMEO is more than difficult.…”

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Zi et al first proposed the concepts of "figure of merits" and "cycles for maximum energy output (CMEO)," [28] which provide the guideline for the maximum energy output per cycle of a TENG device. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Zi et al first proposed the concepts of "figure of merits" and "cycles for maximum energy output (CMEO)," [28] which provide the guideline for the maximum energy output per cycle of a TENG device.…”

“…Afterward, Xi et al [29] and Cheng et al [30] have separately demonstrated the power management circuits which assist the TENG to achieve the 72% and 80% of the CMEO. Recently, Qin et al reported an interesting TENG system which can eliminate the requirement of impedance matching, [31] however, their system is only applicable for elaborate devices. Moreover, the maximum energy output can only be achieved when the load matches the impedance of TENG.…”