Abstract
Energy harvesting is one of the most rapidly growing of the emerging technologies. This field has arrived at the hybrid and multi-source era, where hybrid structures and novel materials are able to boost the energy conversion efficiency and/or make the harvesters capable of benefitting from multiple energy sources simultaneously. Such hybrid and multi-source energy harvesters have not frequently been reviewed in the past, potentially because of the small number of publications compared to that of their single-source and individual counterparts. However, as their number is becoming larger, it is now necessary to give sufficient and frequent reviews of developments in the field. Furthermore, an increasing number of developed energy harvesters are moving out of the laboratory into industrial markets. In practice, energy harvesters need to be integrated with energy storage and/or end users such as sensors and wireless sensor networks. Therefore, the harvester-storage and harvester-sensor integration systems also need to be reviewed frequently. This mini-review includes works reported in the first half of 2018 and provides a timely update to the published review. It focuses on the above-mentioned hybrid and multi-source energy harvesters as well as on integrated harvesters, energy storage systems and end users (e.g. sensors), including CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) technology-based harvesters and systems.
Highlights
Energy harvesting technology covers the conversion of solar/light, vibration/kinetic, wind/fluidic, magnetic, and thermal energies into electricity, via various mechanisms such as the photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, electrostatic, triboelectric, magnetostrictive, thermoelectric, and pyroelectric effects
The latest comprehensive reviews on piezoelectric energy harvesters, where the majority of energy harvesting research is relevant, have been published (Uchino, 2018; Yang et al, 2018c). This mini review focuses on hybrid and multi-source energy harvesters as well as those integrated with energy storage and/or sensors
An order of magnitude compared to piezoelectric kinetic energy harvesting up to 300%
Summary
Energy harvesting technology covers the conversion of solar/light, vibration/kinetic, wind/fluidic, magnetic, and thermal energies into electricity, via various mechanisms such as the photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, electrostatic, triboelectric, magnetostrictive, thermoelectric, and pyroelectric effects. The harvester could be excited in two directions, i.e., along the tube length and driving the suspended magnet to move in the tube, or perpendicular to the tube length and bending the cantilevers In the former scenario, the moving magnet passes through the coil, harvesting the kinetic energy via the electromagnetic effect. A couple of recently published patents reveal two-dimensional (or two-degree-of-freedom) piezoelectric-electromagnetic hybrid harvesters (Fan et al, 2018b,c) Such harvesters comprised a U-shaped piezoelectric cantilever or two-stage piezoelectric cantilevers, magnets, coils, springs, and other supportive structures. These harvesters, as claimed in the patent descriptions, featured compact design, high energy conversion efficiency, and low cost (Fan et al, 2018b,c).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
