Mimosa-inspired tribo-electromagnetic nanogenerator for adaptive wind energy harvesting and intelligent wind monitoring

Abstract

Efficient low-speed wind energy harvesting and wind speed monitoring in natural environments are hot topics in nanogenerator research. The latest designs suffer from some limitations such as high start-up wind speed, low output, short lifespan, and single functionality. Here, an adaptive tribo-electromagnetic nanogenerator inspired by Mimosa for intelligent wind speed sensing and energy harvesting is reported. The flexible-PTFE enables stepless switching between non-contact and soft-contact modes with gradually increasing area based on the variation of centrifugal force. Curved PTFE acts as both a friction layer and an adaptive actuator, reducing energy loss and material wear. Through systematic simulation and experimental optimization, the nanogenerator demonstrates an ultralow start-up wind speed of 0.5 m/s while achieving a remarkable peak power output of 182.3 mW at 10 m/s. A multifunctional power management circuit is developed, and the applications of the nanogenerator in traffic warning and smart home are demonstrated. Also, an integrated system for real-time wind speed sensing and energy harvesting has been developed. Laboratory and in-situ wind tests are conducted to evaluate and validate the system. This work provides a new approach to real-time wind speed monitoring and energy harvesting deployments for challenging low wind speeds, high efficiency, and long lifespan requirements.