Water-Dielectric Single Electrode Mode Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Ocean Wave Impact Energy Harvesting

The effect of water wave impacts and breakdown on the output performance of Water-Dielectric Single Electrode Mode Triboelectric Nanogenerators (WDSE-TENG) has been evaluated. When water contacts a TENG consisting of a hydrophobic dielectric layer, the triboelectric effect is generated with a net negative charge on the dielectric material and net positive charge on the water surface. The hydrophobic dielectric materials, which show the highest electrical output performance in contact with water, were FEP, silicone rubber and polyimide. The average output power of each sample for a load resistance of 10 MΩ was found to be in the range 14.69 to 19.12 µW. The results demonstrate that WDSE-TENG devices can work as an alternative energy harvesting mechanism by using water as a triboelectric material.