Arc-Shaped Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Wind Energy Harvesting

The insufficient contact between triboelectric surfaces has been a key problem faced by wind driven triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) devices. We have designed and fabricated an arc-shaped-TENG (AS-TENG) based on the single-side fixed working mode. AS-TENG includes two arc structures with a fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) film and a stainless steel layer. Due to the inherent stiffness of the stainless steel layer and the arc structure design, the bent stainless steel can fully contact the FEP films attached to the arc structure, enhancing the effects of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. The influence of the arc center angle, angle between the two arc structures, thickness of stainless steel layer on the electrical output have been systematically studied. The open-circuit voltage and the output power obtained with the best structure design were 330 V and 2 mW, respectively. Moreover, an integrated device consisting of five AS-TENG units was fabricated. When the wind speed was 20 ms(-1), the integrated device can provide a short circuit current of about 55 mu A. Due to the characteristics of simple fabrication, small size and easy integration, the AS-TENG exhibited great potential in wind energy harvesting.