Rationally designed rotation triboelectric nanogenerators with much extended lifetime and durability

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) is a promising route for harvesting ambient mechanical energy to obtain clean and renewable electricity. However, the durability of materials still limits its practical applications for continuous operation. Here, a radial-arrayed TENG was integrated with a transmission mechanism, which successfully maximized the sustainable operation with less triboelectric material wear and damage. Through the rational design of the transmission mechanism, triboelectric layers were first charged by the contact electrification due to the wave impact from the sides, and charges were transferred by the electrostatic induction continuously because of the tumbler's design. In this case, frictional resistance between the triboelectric layers were successfully eliminated, which largely enhances its robustness and durability. After running for 500 k cycles, there is only 1.8% degradation. The TENG could convert one single impact into multiple cycles of rotations, which improves the energy harvesting efficiency for sustainably driving and charging commercial electronics, immediately demonstrating the feasibility of the TENG as a practical power source with extended lifetime and durability. Given exceptional durability and unprecedented applicability resulting from novel designs, this work provides an attractive strategy for the study of triboelectric nanogenerator's durability and facilitates the development of the self-powered systems.