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Triboelectric nanogenerators

Nature Reviews Methods Primers volume 3, Article number: 39 (2023) Cite this article

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Abstract

By combining the effects of contact electrification and electrostatic induction, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can effectively convert mechanical energy into electric power or signals. Over the past decade, TENG development has progressed rapidly, from fundamental scientific understanding to advanced technologies and applications. This Primer gives a brief overview of TENGs, including the mechanisms of contact electrification and electrodynamics, applications, future opportunities and limitations. As an interdisciplinary field, advances are expected in both theoretical and experimental aspects of TENGs. For example, technologies based on Maxwell’s equations for a mechano-driven, slow-moving system can be coupled with a theoretical understanding of physical laws and concepts. From this, general simulation models can be established and corresponding experiments designed to optimize TENGs for a range of applications.

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Fig. 1: Physical basis of TENGs.
Fig. 2: Equivalent circuit models of TENGs.
Fig. 3: Applications of TENGs as micro/nano-energy harvesters.
Fig. 4: Applications of TENGs as self-powered sensors/systems.
Fig. 5: Applications of TENGs in blue energy harvesting.
Fig. 6: Applications of TENGs as high-voltage power sources and probes.

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Acknowledgements

T.H.C. and J.J.S. contributed equally to this work. The authors are grateful for the support from the National Key R&D Project from the Minister of Science and Technology (Nos. 2021YFA1201601 and 2021YFA1201604), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 62001031) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Tinghai Cheng, Jiajia Shao.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

    Tinghai Cheng, Jiajia Shao & Zhong Lin Wang

  2. School of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

    Tinghai Cheng & Jiajia Shao

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Zhong Lin Wang

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Contributions

Introduction (J.J.S. and Z.L.W.); Experimentation (T.H.C. and J.J.S.); Results (J.J.S. and Z.L.W.); Applications (T.H.C. and Z.L.W.); Reproducibility and data deposition (J.J.S.); Limitations and optimizations (T.H.C.); Outlook (J.J.S. and Z.L.W.); Overview of the Primer (Z.L.W.).

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Correspondence to Zhong Lin Wang.

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Nature Reviews Methods Primers thanks Jeffrey Snyder and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Glossary

Blue energy

The energy captured by triboelectric nanogenerators for harvesting low-frequency water wave energy from the ocean.

Contact electrification

A scientific effect, primarily through the electron transfer mechanism, where two or more different materials become electrically charged after being separated from physical contact.

Electrostatic induction

A modification to the distribution of electric charge on one material caused by the influence of nearby materials that have electric charge.

Energy harvesting devices

Devices that typically produce a small amount of energy through a process that harvests energy from external sources.

Lorentz covariance

An equivalence of observation, as special relativity implies that the laws of physics are the same for all observers moving with respect to one another within an inertial frame.

Lumped-parameter equivalent circuit

A theoretical circuit that retains all the electrical characteristics of a given circuit, generally built based on a lumped parameter (or lumped element) model.

Mechano-induced polarization

Polarization due to pre-existing electrostatic charges and medium movement driven by external mechanical action.

Triboelectrification

A united process of tribology and interfacial charge transfer, one of the fundamental effects in electricity generation.

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Cheng, T., Shao, J. & Wang, Z.L. Triboelectric nanogenerators. Nat Rev Methods Primers 3, 39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-023-00220-3

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