Integrated triboelectric nanogenerator array based on air-driven membrane structures for water wave energy harvesting

Water wave energy is considered a promising renewable energy source, while currently little has been exploited due to a number of unsolved challenges for present technologies. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), as an emerging energy harvesting technology, shows particular advantages in transforming low frequency mechanical energy into electricity, providing new opportunities for harvesting water wave energy. In this work, an integrated triboelectric nanogenerator array device based on air-driven membrane structures is demonstrated. With novel designs of a spring-levitated oscillator structure and a mechanism to use air pressure to transfer and distribute harvested water wave energy, the device can drive a series of integrated TENG units effectively and simultaneously. While operating at low frequency near the resonant frequency of about 2.9 Hz, the device integrating 38 TENG units shows high output of transferred charges per cycle of 15 μC, short-circuit current of 187 μA and optimized peak power density of 13.23 W m−3. The device can easily integrates large-scale high-density TENG arrays in one package, as can greatly augment the output, providing a promising route to effectively harvest water wave energy for various practical applications.