High-Performance and Durable Rotational Triboelectric Nanogenerator Leveraging Soft-Contact Coplanar Charge Pumping Strategy

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) represents a burgeoning approach for harvesting ambient mechanical energy. However, practical applications suffer from the issues of insufficient charge density and material abrasion. Here, a rotational TENG that attains exceptional output performance and durability in mechanical energy harvesting and couples an ingenious coplanar charge pump by soft contact with a suspended electrostatic induction mode is presented. Thanks to the continuous and synchronous charge injection from the central charge pumping unit, the charge density can be up to 74.62 µC m⁻², resulting in an outstanding peak power density of 20.72 W m⁻². Moreover, the utilization of yielding polyester fur in the charge pumping unit as a tribo-layer for soft contact decreases the material abrasion and then enhances durability and robustness. And the experimental results show that the TENG can maintain 99.2% electrical output after 100 000 operating cycles. With the optimized design, the prototype can continuously drive four commercial lamps rated 12 W in series. Furthermore, a wireless powering system is demonstrated to power the electronics, demonstrating an extensive application of the TENG. Given the compelling characteristics, this work is expected to provide a sound strategy for improving TENGs’ output and durability in the field of self-powered sensor systems. © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.