Rotational Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on a PDMS@CS Composite Material

Abstract

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a kind of green and clean energy harvesting device based on the principle of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. In this paper, a rotational triboelectric nanogenerator (RTENG) was designed and fabricated. The influence of three factors, that is, rotating speed, external loads, and air humidity, on the output performance was studied. Results show that an RTENG having an area of 2.4 × 6.3 cm2 can produce an electric power of 0.52 mW during the compound motion of vertical contact–separation and lateral sliding modes with the external load of 20 MΩ. The output voltage at the rotation speed of 300 rpm is 200 V. The maximum output voltage increases with the external load until the resistance surpasses 300 MΩ, whereas the current is inversely proportional to the external resistance. The RTENG can instantaneously drive hundreds of light-emitting diodes and can also charge a capacitor. Furthermore, the output performance can be easily adjusted by adding different pairs of rotor blades and be driven by various forms of energy such as wind energy, water energy, and even motion energy of a body.