Broadband and Multi-Cylinder-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Mechanical Energy Harvesting with High Space Utilization

The development and utilization of new energy sources is an effective means of addressing the limits of traditional fossil energy resources and the problem of environmental pollution. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) show great potential for applications in harvesting low-frequency mechanical energy from the environment. Here, we propose a multi-cylinder-based triboelectric nanogenerator (MC-TENG) with broadband and high space utilization for harvesting mechanical energy from the environment. The structure consisted of two TENG units (TENG I and TENG II) assembled by a central shaft. Both an internal rotor and an external stator were included in each TENG unit, operating in oscillating and freestanding layer mode. On one hand, the resonant frequencies of the masses in the two TENG units were different at the maximum angle of oscillation, allowing for energy harvesting in a broadband range (2.25–4 Hz). On the other hand, the internal space of TENG II was fully utilized, and the maximum peak power of the two TENG units connected in parallel reached 23.55 mW. In contrast, the peak power density reached 31.23 Wm−3, significantly higher than that of a single TENG unit. In the demonstration, the MC-TENG could power 1000 LEDs, a thermometer/hygrometer, and a calculator continuously. Therefore, the MC-TENG will have excellent application in the field of blue energy harvesting in the future.