Transverse‐Asymmetric Electrode Structure Design to Eliminate Charge Transfer Loss for Enhancing Output Performance of Sliding Mode TENG

Abstract Sliding mode triboelectric nanogenerators (S‐TENG) have been validated as a simple and efficient mechanical energy harvesting technology in low frequency for constructing self‐powered systems. However, the charge invalid transfer in the S‐TENG leads to its output energy loss, which has not been addressed by researchers in this field. Herein, a novel transverse‐asymmetric electrode structure sliding TENG (TAE‐TENG) is proposed, where the specific asymmetric bottom electrode configuration distinguishes it from the previously reported S‐TENGs. This design can be equivalent to a hybrid model, consisting of two units, a sliding mode TENG with blank area and a freestanding mode TENG with a shielding electrode, which effectively eliminates the charge transfer loss and enhances the output performance. The insight mechanism of charge transfer in each operation process is analyzed. The TAE‐TENG achieves 1.42 µC output charge, 1.97‐fold as that of the conventional S‐TENG (0.72 µC) with equivalent dimensions, and also exhibits more sustained and higher current waveforms. The output charge, root‐mean‐square (RMS) current, and average power of the rotation‐TAE‐TENG at 60 rpm are 3.05 µC, 97.50 µA and 44.02 mW, respectively. This work provides a physical mechanism of charge transfer in sliding TENG and an effective method to improve its output energy.