Concepedia

Coupled Triboelectric Nanogenerator Networks for Efficient Water Wave Energy Harvesting

Liang Xu, Tao Jiang, Pei Lin, Jiajia Shao, Chuan He, Wei Zhong, Xiangyu Chen, Zhong Lin Wang

ACS Nano · 2018 · 385 citations · 38 references

TL;DR

Water wave energy is abundant but difficult to harvest economically, and triboelectric nanogenerator networks offer a promising approach for large‑scale ocean energy capture. This study reports a coupling design for TENG networks aimed at enhancing water wave energy harvesting. The authors fabricated ball‑shell structured TENG units and assembled them into networks using three connection methods, including flexible links, and performed comprehensive dynamic analyses to evaluate performance in water. The coupled networks achieved more than tenfold charge output compared to unlinked units, with flexible connections delivering superior performance and demonstrating that rational linkage design enables collaborative operation for higher efficiency.

Abstract

Water wave energy is a promising clean energy source, which is abundant but hard to scavenge economically. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) networks provide an effective approach toward massive harvesting of water wave energy in oceans. In this work, a coupling design in TENG networks for such purposes is reported. The charge output of the rationally linked units is over 10 times of that without linkage. TENG networks of three different connecting methods are fabricated and show better performance for the ones with flexible connections. The network is based on an optimized ball-shell structured TENG unit with high responsivity to small agitations. The dynamic behavior of single and multiple TENG units is also investigated comprehensively to fully understand their performance in water. The study shows that a rational design on the linkage among the units could be an effective strategy for TENG clusters to operate collaboratively for reaching a higher performance.