A High-Durability Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Broad-Spectrum Wind Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Addressing the increasing global demand for sustainable energy, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as a promising solution for converting wind energy into electricity, but their practical use is limited by high cut-in wind speeds and significant wear at high wind speeds. Herein, a high-durability TENG enabled by easy-starting design and high-durability design is proposed for broad-spectrum wind energy harvesting. It displays remarkable adaptability to varying wind speeds, thereby ensuring dynamic balance and continuous operation. The fan blades of this TENG has been redesigned, reducing the cut-in wind speed to as low as 0.9 m ⁻¹s, with structure analyzed and verified by theory and experiment. Moreover, the continuous running time of this TENG is 6 times longer than the TENG without the high-durability design, as demonstrated by the comparison of friction wear and the difference of electrical output. This TENG is able to be applied in a highway tunnel environment to harvest wind energy in the tunnel, providing power for three major systems in the tunnel, including environmental monitoring, lighting safety, and flood alerts. This work introduces a new strategy to adapt TENGs to broad-spectrum wind energy environment, and offers a concept for the construction of tunnel wind energy system.