Modeling of liquid-solid hydrodynamic water wave energy harvesting system based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Wave energy collector (WEC) based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) (W-TENG) is excellent candidate in complex marine environments. However, the improvement of energy conversion efficiency and understanding of motion mechanisms of W-TENG were limited due to the lack of theoretical basis. Here, based on the theory of hydromechanics, an energy conversion model is proposed to unveil the energy conversion mechanism and interaction mechanism between W-TENG (solid) and water wave (liquid) during the wave energy harvesting process. An inverted pendulum-typed multilayer triboelectric nanogenerator (IPM-TENG) is developed to capture water wave energy in weak wave environment (wave height: 2–13 cm, wave frequency: 0.5–1.25 Hz). Guided by the theoretical model and hydrodynamic experiments, the structural parameters and output performance of the device are further optimized. Most importantly, the available energy conversion efficiency of the optimized device is up to 14.5%. Furthermore, the optimized IPM-TENG can serve as a console for the ‘on demand’ release of pesticides to promote the development of self-powered smart agriculture. This work can not only provide guidance for the design and energy conversion efficiency improvement of future blue energy harvesting devices, but also accelerate the commercial rollout and practical application of W-TENG.