Flexible Seaweed-Like Triboelectric Nanogenerator as a Wave Energy Harvester Powering Marine Internet of Things

TLDR

The marine Internet of Things relies on distributed underwater sensors that have traditionally depended on batteries, limiting their deployment and sustainability. This study proposes a flexible seaweed‑like triboelectric nanogenerator to provide in‑situ wave‑energy power for MIoT devices. Inspired by seaweed, the device’s flexible structure bends with wave motion, converting mechanical deformation into electricity. Experiments show that connecting multiple units boosts output, enabling the system to power floating buoys, coastal stations, and submerged devices, demonstrating a low‑cost, battery‑free MIoT solution.

Abstract

The marine internet of things (MIoT), an increasingly important foundation for ocean development and protection, consists of a variety of marine distributed sensors under water. These sensors of the MIoT have always been highly dependent on batteries. To realize in situ power supply, a flexible seaweed-like triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) capable of harvesting wave energy is proposed in this study. The flexible structure, designed with inspiration from the seaweed structure, processes extensive marine application scenarios. The bending and recovering of the S-TENG structure under wave excitations are converted to electricity. As the output performance increases with the number of parallel connected S-TENG units, an S-TENG system with multiple units could serve for floating buoys, coastal power stations, and even submerged devices. Through the demonstration experiments performed in this study, the flexible, low-cost S-TENG could become an effective approach to achieve a battery independent MIoT.