Raindrop energy-powered autonomous wireless hyetometer based on liquid\u2013solid contact electrification

Chaoqun Xu,Youchao Qi,Guoxu Liu,Yuanfen Chen,Yuyu Gao,Tianzhao Bu,Xianpeng Fu,Chi Zhang,Zhong Lin Wang,Chengyu Li

doi:10.1038/s41378-022-00362-6

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can directly harvest energy via solid–liquid interface contact electrification, making them very suitable for harvesting raindrop energy and as active rainfall sensors. This technology is promising for realizing a fully self-powered system for autonomous rainfall monitoring combined with energy harvesting/sensing. Here, we report a raindrop energy-powered autonomous rainfall monitoring and wireless transmission system (R-RMS), in which a raindrop-TENG (R-TENG) array simultaneously serves as a raindrop energy harvester and rainfall sensor. At a rainfall intensity of 71 mm/min, the R-TENG array can generate an average short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and maximum output power of 15 μA, 1800 V, and 325 μW, respectively. The collected energy can be adjusted to act as a stable 2.5 V direct-current source for the whole system by a power management circuit. Meanwhile, the R-TENG array acts as a rainfall sensor, in which the output signal can be monitored and the measured data are wirelessly transmitted. Under a rainfall intensity of 71 mm/min, the R-RMS can be continuously powered and autonomously transmit rainfall data once every 4 min. This work has paved the way for raindrop energy-powered wireless hyetometers, which have exhibited broad prospects in unattended weather monitoring, field surveys, and the Internet of Things.

Highlights

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can directly convert raindrop energy into electricity based on solid–liquid interface contact electrification[24–30], which can provide sustainable micro/nanopower sources for distributed electronic devices[26,27]
We report a raindrop energy-powered autonomous rainfall monitoring and wireless transmission system (R-RMS), in which an R-TENG array simultaneously serves as the raindrop energy harvester and rainfall sensor
The R-TENG is composed of a harvesting energy TENG (H-TENG) and a signal TENG (S-TENG) for raindrop energy harvesting and rainfall monitoring, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Rain is a major source of fresh water for human beings and other terrestrial organisms[1–8]. We report a raindrop energy-powered autonomous rainfall monitoring and wireless transmission system (R-RMS), in which an R-TENG array simultaneously serves as the raindrop energy harvester and rainfall sensor. At a rainfall intensity of 71 mm/min, the R-TENG array can generate an average short-circuit current, opencircuit voltage, and maximum output power of 15 μA, 1800 V, and 325 μW, respectively.

Results

Conclusion