Liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators array and its applications for wave energy harvesting and self-powered cathodic protection

Abstract

A new type of array combination for liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators is constructed by using polytetrafluoroethylene ultrafiltration membrane as the friction layer with water to collect wave energy to self-power the cathodic protection system in marine environment. The dual liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator array shows the output performance with a short current circuit of 2.68 μA and output voltage of 105 V. Meanwhile, a self-powered corrosion protection system with liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators array as the power supply is achieved for A3 carbon steel in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The electrochemical measurements results show that compared with the bare carbon steel, the open circuit potential drop of the carbon steel coupled with the liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerators is about 330 mV. Compared with photocathodic protection and other new energy-based methods, the solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerator could realize all-weather protection of metals by utilizing natural energy and through parallel or series circuit design, it could be used to achieve more efficient cathodic protection for metal materials. The intelligent self-powered system possesses great potential in the area of all-weather cathodic protection and power supply by utilizing liquid-solid friction energy for the ships, buoys, and marine equipments in ocean conditions.