Fully enclosed microbeads structured TENG arrays for omnidirectional wind energy harvesting with a portable galloping oscillator

Abstract

To facilitate the transition of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) from early stages to large-scale real-world applications, urgent mass production is imperative, necessitating standardized manufacturing processes. In this study, a novel “pause-and-insert” and “print-in-place” 3D printing approach has been devised, employing widely available fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers along with conductive (as electrodes) and nonconductive (for casing and support) filaments to make encapsulate microbeads triboelectric nanogenerator (MB-TENG). This innovation results in a fully enclosed freestanding-mode TENG pack, seamlessly integrated with a lightweight wind-induced oscillator featuring tuning systems, thus enabling efficient, safe, and noiseless omnidirectional wind energy harvesting. Through adept design and manufacturing techniques, systematic inner-structure optimization has been achieved, yielding superior output and industrialization levels compared to similar efforts. MB-TENG’s surface charge density is as high as 19.9 µC/m2. The average power density is 13.8 W/m3. Moreover, the elimination of postprocessing significantly streamlines standard manufacturing, enhancing the prospects for device commercialization. Beyond its wind energy application, the versatile energy packs can serve as both ocean wave and human motion harvesters within network configurations, capable of powering a massive real-time monitoring sensor array.