Enhancing the Output of Liquid–Solid Triboelectric Nanogenerators through Surface Roughness Optimization

The advent of liquid–solid triboelectric nanogenerators (LS-TENGs) has ushered in a new era for harnessing and using energy derived from water. To date, extensive research has been conducted to enhance the output of LS-TENGs, thereby improving water utilization efficiency and facilitating their practical application. However, in contrast to intricate chemical treatment methods and specialized structures, a straightforward operational process and cost-effective materials are more conducive to the widespread adoption of LS-TENGs in practical applications. This work presents a novel method to enhance the output of LS-TENGs by increasing the liquid–solid contact area. The approach involves creating roughness on the solid surface through sandpaper grinding, which is simple in design and easy to operate and significantly reduces the cost of the experiment. The theory is applied to the solid triboelectric layer commonly used in the LS-TENG, demonstrating its universality and wide applicability to improve the output of the LS-TENG. The practical performance of the device is demonstrated by charging the capacitor and external load and driving the hygrometer and commercial 5 W LED light bulb, which can directly light up 300 commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) driven by a drop of water. This work provides a new method for the optimization of LS-TENGs and contributes to the wide application of LS-TENGs. This is a significant step forward in the field of energy harvesting and utilization.