Rationally segmented triboelectric nanogenerator with a constant direct-current output and low crest factor

Abstract

Despite the great potential of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) as a promising energy harvesting technology, their practical applications are still hindered by their pulsed outputs with a high crest factor. Here, through a simple and easy method involving electrode misalignment (EM) and circuit connection, an exceedingly stable direct current (DC) multi-phase TENG (MP-TENG) with a high average output power at a constant current is developed. The MP-TENG obtained by rectifying and superimposing TENG units with phase difference in parallel can realize an ultra-low crest factor of 1.05 and an average power increase of 40.1%, compared with conventional single-phase TENGs. Besides, when using rotator grids with different sizes from the electrodes and the EM method, the common materials in daily life such as wood and cloth fabrics have been applied to generate DC-like outputs with a crest factor of less than 1.1, which expands dramatically the selection range of TENG materials. Due to the excellent DC performance of the MP-TENG, 1000 LEDs and 54 bulbs can be easily lighted up without any flickers, and commercial electronics can be driven continuously to work stably. This work provides a paradigm shift to achieve a high-output constant direct current, which has widespread application prospects in the field of energy harvesting.