Pressurized well-inspired triboelectric nanogenerators for harvesting water wave energy toward marine environmental applications

Abstract

Among the most plentiful sources of renewable energy worldwide, water wave energy is extremely important, and the development of devices and technologies to efficiently harvest this high-entropy energy is essential to the sustainable development of the economy and society. A novel approach for harvesting water wave energy involves the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which has drawn the interest of numerous researchers. At present, the devices designed for water wave energy harvesting based on the principle of TENGs have problems such as complex structure, poor output stability, and insufficient practicability. Herein, we propose a triboelectric nanogenerator inspired by the ancient pressurized well device (IPW-TENG), which used the leverage principle. After a series of material selection procedures, the IPW-TENG of single power generation unit exhibited superior electrical output and charging characteristics at a low mechanical driving frequency, and showed output stability. When the device was applied to cathodic protection, 304 stainless steel (304SS) exhibited an open circuit potential drop of 200 mV, indicating that its anti-corrosion effect is remarkable. We integrated the array of power generation units and demonstrated the possibility of IPW-TENGs to harvest water wave energy in a marine environment. This device offers a workable solution for large-scale blue energy harvesting and exhibits considerable potential in the application of corrosion protection and self-powered service systems.