Copper particles-PTFE tube based triboelectric nanogenerator for wave energy harvesting

Developing sustainable energy is essential to achieve carbon neutrality. The emergence of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) makes it possible to efficiently harvest the abundant wave energy in nature for their excellent operational stability and electrical performance at low frequencies. Here, a simplified copper particles-PTFE tube structured TENG (CP-TENG) was fabricated by encasing copper particles into a polytetrafluoroethylene tube and the small copper particles move with nearly fluid-like characteristics, expanding the contact area to ensure high charge density. A single CP-TENG includes two parallel-connected TENG units and can reach a maximum current density of 41.4 mA m −3 at a frequency of 1 Hz. Meanwhile, several CP-TENG units can be flexibly assembled into various arrays to accomplish output increase. A sealed CP-TENG power box demonstrates an impressive capability to collect wave energy, lighting up at most 210 LEDs. The CP-TENG-based energy network may present a new technical approach for blue energy harvesting. • A novel TENG with a copper particles-PTFE tube structure is designed. • This low-cost and easy-to-assemble device is suitable for wave energy harvesting. • The output performance can be multiplied by assembling arbitrary numbers of CP-TENG modules.