Freestanding Triboelectric-Layer-Based Nanogenerators for Harvesting Energy from a Moving Object or Human Motion in Contact and Non-contact Modes

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 26; no. 18; pp. 2818 - 2824
• Main Authors: Wang, Sihong, Xie, Yannan, Niu, Simiao, Lin, Long, Wang, Zhong Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2014
• Subjects: Computer Simulation; Computer-Aided Design; Contact; Electric power generation; Electric Power Supplies; Electrodes; Energy Transfer; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; freestanding triboelectric layer; Friction; Harvesting; Human; Human motion; mechanical energy harvesting; Membranes, Artificial; Microelectrodes; Models, Theoretical; Motion; Movement; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology - instrumentation; non-contact sliding mode; self-powering technology; Sliding; Static Electricity; Transducers; triboelectric nanogenerator; triboelectric nanogenerator; freestanding triboelectric layer; non-contact sliding mode; self-powering technology; mechanical energy harvesting
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201305303

For versatile mechanical energy harvesting from arbitrary moving objects such as humans, a new mode of triboelectric nanogenerator is developed based on the sliding of a freestanding triboelectric‐layer between two stationary electrodes on the same plane. With two electrodes alternatively approached by the tribo‐charges on the sliding layer, electricity is effectively generated due to electrostatic induction. A unique feature of this nanogenerator is that it can operate in non‐contact sliding mode, which greatly increases the lifetime and the efficiency of such devices.