Wind-Driven Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Scavenging Biomechanical Energy

The wind-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), considered as one of the most important tributaries of the TENG family, possesses high-frequency signals and remarkable output power. Herein, a wind-driven TENG, employing silver nanowires (Ag NWs) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) as triboelectric materials, was designed with a purpose to act as a power unit to replace batteries in some wearable devices. Under a wind speed of 20 m/s, the as-fabricated TENG could generate an output voltage, current, and power of up to 150 V, 7.5 μA, and 0.18 mW, respectively. Wind-driven TENGs were integrated into three types of self-powered devices (i.e., shoe, bracelet, and mask) to play roles as energy sources due to the high output power and high-frequency signals. The wearable devices were utilized to monitor different motion states (e.g., walking, jogging, and running) at various body positions. These prototypes of self-powered wearable devices could offer new approaches to protecting our environment and improving the quality of human life

Conductive Fabric-Based Stretchable Hybridized Nanogenerator for Scavenging Biomechanical Energy

We demonstrate a stretchable hybridized nanogenerator based on a highly conductive fabric of glass fibers/silver nanowires/polydimethylsiloxane. Including a triboelectric nanogenerator and an electromagnetic generator, the hybridized nanogenerator can deliver output voltage/current signals from stretchable movements by both triboelectrification and electromagnetic induction, maximizing the efficiency of energy scavenging from one motion. Compared to the individual energy-harvesting units, the hybridized nanogenerator has a better charging performance, where a 47 μF capacitor can be charged to 2.8 V in only 16 s. The hybridized nanogenerator can be integrated with a bus grip for scavenging wasted biomechanical energy from human body movements to solve the power source issue of some electric devices in the pure electric bus

Enhanced P3HT/ZnO Nanowire Array Solar Cells by Pyro-phototronic Effect

The pyro-phototronic effect is based on the coupling among photoexcitation, pyroelectricity, and semiconductor charge transport in pyroelectric materials, which can be utilized to modulate photoexcited carriers to enhance the output performance of solar cells. Herein, we have demonstrated the largely enhanced output performance of a P3HT/ZnO nanowire array photovoltaic cell (PVC) by using the pyro-phototronic effect under weak light illuminations. By applying an external cooling temperature variation, the output current and voltage of the PVC can be dramatically enhanced by 18% and 152% under indoor light illumination, respectively. This study realizes the performance enhancement of pyroelectric semiconductor materials-based solar cells <i>via</i> a temperature-variation-induced pyro-phototronic effect, which may have potential applications in solar energy scavenging and self-powered sensor systems

Self-Powered Wireless Smart Sensor Node Enabled by an Ultrastable, Highly Efficient, and Superhydrophobic-Surface-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Wireless sensor networks will be responsible for a majority of the fast growth in intelligent systems in the next decade. However, most of the wireless smart sensor nodes require an external power source such as a Li-ion battery, where the labor cost and environmental waste issues of replacing batteries have largely limited the practical applications. Instead of using a Li-ion battery, we report an ultrastable, highly efficient, and superhydrophobic-surface-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to scavenge wind energy for sustainably powering a wireless smart temperature sensor node. There is no decrease in the output voltage and current of the TENG after continuous working for about 14 h at a wind speed of 12 m/s. Through a power management circuit, the TENG can deliver a constant output voltage of 3.3 V and a pulsed output current of about 100 mA to achieve highly efficient energy storage in a capacitor. A wireless smart temperature sensor node can be sustainably powered by the TENG for sending the real-time temperature data to an iPhone under a working distance of 26 m, demonstrating the feasibility of the self-powered wireless smart sensor networks

Hybridized Electromagnetic–Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Scavenging Air-Flow Energy to Sustainably Power Temperature Sensors

We report a hybridized nanogenerator with dimensions of 6.7 cm × 4.5 cm × 2 cm and a weight of 42.3 g that consists of two triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and two electromagnetic generators (EMGs) for scavenging air-flow energy. Under an air-flow speed of about 18 m/s, the hybridized nanogenerator can deliver largest output powers of 3.5 mW for one TENG (in correspondence of power per unit mass/volume: 8.8 mW/g and 14.6 kW/m³) at a loading resistance of 3 MΩ and 1.8 mW for one EMG (in correspondence of power per unit mass/volume: 0.3 mW/g and 0.4 kW/m³) at a loading resistance of 2 kΩ, respectively. The hybridized nanogenerator can be utilized to charge a capacitor of 3300 μF to sustainably power four temperature sensors for realizing self-powered temperature sensor networks. Moreover, a wireless temperature sensor driven by a hybridized nanogenerator charged Li-ion battery can work well to send the temperature data to a receiver/computer at a distance of 1.5 m. This work takes a significant step toward air-flow energy harvesting and its potential applications in self-powered wireless sensor networks

Hybridized Electromagnetic–Triboelectric Nanogenerator for a Self-Powered Electronic Watch

We report a hybridized nanogenerator including a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and six electromagnetic generators (EMGs) that can effectively scavenge biomechanical energy for sustainably powering an electronic watch. Triggered by the natural motions of the wearer’s wrist, a magnetic ball at the center in an acrylic box with coils on each side will collide with the walls, resulting in outputs from both the EMGs and the TENG. By using the hybridized nanogenerator to harvest the biomechanical energy, the electronic watch can be continuously powered under different motion types of the wearer’s wrist, where the best approach is to charge a 100 μF capacitor in 39 s to maintain the continuous operation of the watch for 456 s. To increase the working time of the watch further, a homemade Li-ion battery has been utilized as the energy storage unit for realizing the continuous working of the watch for about 218 min by using the hybridized nanogenerator to charge the battery within 32 min. This work will provide the opportunities for developing a nanogenerator-based built-in power source for self-powered wearable electronics such as an electronic watch

Hybridized Electromagnetic–Triboelectric Nanogenerator for a Self-Powered Electronic Watch

We report a hybridized nanogenerator including a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and six electromagnetic generators (EMGs) that can effectively scavenge biomechanical energy for sustainably powering an electronic watch. Triggered by the natural motions of the wearer’s wrist, a magnetic ball at the center in an acrylic box with coils on each side will collide with the walls, resulting in outputs from both the EMGs and the TENG. By using the hybridized nanogenerator to harvest the biomechanical energy, the electronic watch can be continuously powered under different motion types of the wearer’s wrist, where the best approach is to charge a 100 μF capacitor in 39 s to maintain the continuous operation of the watch for 456 s. To increase the working time of the watch further, a homemade Li-ion battery has been utilized as the energy storage unit for realizing the continuous working of the watch for about 218 min by using the hybridized nanogenerator to charge the battery within 32 min. This work will provide the opportunities for developing a nanogenerator-based built-in power source for self-powered wearable electronics such as an electronic watch

Hybridized Electromagnetic–Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Scavenging Biomechanical Energy for Sustainably Powering Wearable Electronics

We report a hybridized electromagnetic–triboelectric nanogenerator for highly efficient scavenging of biomechanical energy to sustainably power wearable electronics by human walking. Based on the effective conjunction of triboelectrification and electromagnetic induction, the hybridized nanogenerator, with dimensions of 5 cm × 5 cm × 2.5 cm and a light weight of 60 g, integrates a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that can deliver a peak output power of 4.9 mW under a loading resistance of 6 MΩ and an electromagnetic generator (EMG) that can deliver a peak output power of 3.5 mW under a loading resistance of 2 kΩ. The hybridized nanogenerator exhibits a good stability for the output performance and a much better charging performance than that of an individual energy-harvesting unit (TENG or EMG). Furthermore, the hybridized nanogenerator integrated in a commercial shoe has been utilized to harvest biomechanical energy induced by human walking to directly light up tens of light-emitting diodes in the shoe and sustainably power a smart pedometer for reading the data of a walking step, distance, and energy consumption. A wireless pedometer driven by the hybrid nanogenerator can work well to send the walking data to an iPhone under the distance of 25 m. This work pushes forward a significant step toward energy harvesting from human walking and its potential applications in sustainably powering wearable electronics

Ag Nanoparticle-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator To Scavenge Wind Energy for a Self-Charging Power Unit

Li-ion batteries are a green energy storage technology with advantages of high energy density, long lifetime, and sustainability, but they cannot generate electric energy by themselves. As a novel energy-harvesting technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are a promising power source for supplying electronic devices, however it is difficult to directly use their high output voltage and low output current. Here, we designed a Ag nanoparticle-based TENG for scavenging wind energy. After including a transformer and a power management circuit into the system, constant output voltages such as 3.6 V and a pulsed current of about 100 mA can be obtained, which can be used to directly light up a light-emitting diode. Furthermore, the produced electric energy can be effectively stored in a WO₃/LiMn₂O₄ electrode based Li-ion battery. Our present work provides a new approach to effectively scavenge wind energy and store the obtained electric energy, which is significant for exploring self-charging power units

Efficient Scavenging of Solar and Wind Energies in a Smart City

To realize the sustainable energy supply in a smart city, it is essential to maximize energy scavenging from the city environments for achieving the self-powered functions of some intelligent devices and sensors. Although the solar energy can be well harvested by using existing technologies, the large amounts of wasted wind energy in the city cannot be effectively utilized since conventional wind turbine generators can only be installed in remote areas due to their large volumes and safety issues. Here, we rationally design a hybridized nanogenerator, including a solar cell (SC) and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), that can individually/simultaneously scavenge solar and wind energies, which can be extensively installed on the roofs of the city buildings. Under the same device area of about 120 mm × 22 mm, the SC can deliver a largest output power of about 8 mW, while the output power of the TENG can be up to 26 mW. Impedance matching between the SC and TENG has been achieved by using a transformer to decrease the impedance of the TENG. The hybridized nanogenerator has a larger output current and a better charging performance than that of the individual SC or TENG. This research presents a feasible approach to maximize solar and wind energies scavenging from the city environments with the aim to realize some self-powered functions in smart city