A triboelectric energy harvester using human biomechanical motion for low power electronics

Abstract

This article presents the conversion of human biomechanical motion into useful electricity using triboelectricity. Nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) are selected as triboelectric materials for charge generation and aluminium/copper is selected as an electrode during vertical and sliding motions. Output voltage, energy density and power are computed across different capacitors and resistors. The maximum d.c. voltage is found to be 9.56 V across a 1 $$\upmu $$ F capacitor using a combination of nylon and PTFE during vertical motion. Also, the maximum energy density across a 100 $$\upmu $$ F capacitor is 492.47 $$\upmu $$ J $$\hbox {cm}^{-3}$$ and the maximum power across a 4.63 M $$\Omega $$ resistor is 6.2 $$\upmu $$ W. Such portable systems can harvest human biomechanical energy while walking or exercising and can act as an infinite lifetime energy source for conventional low power electronics.