High-efficiency thermal-electric conversion enabled by water-solid triboelectric nanogenerators within a 3D pulsating heat pipe

Abstract

At present, effective strategies for obtaining electric energy from harvesting and converting thermal energy have attracted great attention in the field of new energy. According to the working principle of electrostatic induction and triboelectrification, the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) technology is regarded as a promising energy harvester. Herein, we propose a novel thermal-electric generator that combines a liquid-solid TENG and a 3D pulsating heat pipe (3D-PHP). The liquid-solid TENG consists of copper foil and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubes, and 50 % deionized water is filled into the 3D-PHP. Based on phase change heat transfer, water columns in the 3D-PHP will pulsate and flow through a liquid-solid TENG, leading to the generation of electric energy. The minimum thermal resistance of this 3D-PHP with TENGs is only 0.131 K/W at a heating power of 200 W, indicating it has excellent heat transfer performance. The peak output voltage and power generated by the developed 3D-PHP generator are up to 14 V and 1.05 μW, respectively. Finally, the harvested electricity is successfully applied to power a digital thermometer. These findings will offer a promising strategy for harvesting thermal energy from electronic equipment and systems involving high-flux heat production and dissipation.