Spherical Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on Eccentric Structure for Omnidirectional Low Frequency Water Wave Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Ocean wave energy is a promising green energy source, but it is difficult to exploit on a large scale due to its low frequency and the random uncertainty of its direction. In this study, a spherical eccentric structured triboelectric nanogenerator (Se‐TENG) is designed to harvest omnidirectional low‐frequency water wave energy. Power management circuits (PMM) are designed to optimize the utilization of water wave energy at low frequencies for large‐scale conversion and storage. It is found that the output performance of the Se‐TENG device is influenced by the frequency of the water waves, with the best output performance at a water wave frequency of 2.0 Hz, given that the wave amplitude is 9 cm. It is verified that within the Se‐TENG, the parallel connections of eccentric structured triboelectric nanogenerators (E‐TENGs) are more conducive to energy storage and conversion. In addition, the Se‐TENG used in conjunction with an energy storage device is able to successfully power light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) and digital thermometers, demonstrating its ability to harvest low‐frequency water wave energy in random directions. The unique structure of the Se‐TENG offers an innovative and effective way of gathering blue energy on a large scale.

Recent Advances in Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Marine Exploitation

“…[146][147][148] Meanwhile, a spherical eccentric structural TENG, which contains 12 eccentrically rotating structured TENG units, was proposed by adding the number of TENG to harvest omnidirectional low-frequency water wave energy (Figure 11c). [149] A gyroscopestructured TENG with an internal and external TENG that can operate independently in different directions also was designed for harvesting multidirectional ocean wave energy (Figure 11d). [82] Unfortunately, this classical spatial structure design cannot achieve effective harvesting of 3D wave energy due to the restriction of large range dead angles.…”

Recent Progress of Nanogenerators for Green Energy Harvesting: Performance, Applications, and Challenges

“…Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) may gather green energy from irregular surroundings at low frequencies by connecting contact electrification with electrostatic induction. Blue energy, for example, may be extracted from ocean wave motion, which is fundamentally random and travels at low frequencies (near to 1 Hz) [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. The benefits of triboelectric nanogenerators are their small weight, low cost, simple operation principle, and lack of sophisticated production [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

Dynamics of triboelectric nanogenerators: A review

“…Therefore, a trade‐off in contact design is needed. (3) The TENG structure is not limited to the basic four fundamental modes but also involves hybrid modes whose dynamic behavior is more complex 54–56 . (4) Collision issues are also important, as the strong nonlinear collision force results in wastage of energy and can make the model invalid 57,58 .…”