A Triboelectric Nanogenerator Design For Harvesting Environmental Mechanical Energy From Water Mist And Application

Mechanical energy is abundant in nature and its potential is yet to be fully explored.Science 2012,Prof.Z.L.Wang’s team invented Triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG)based on coupling effect of friction electrification and electrostatic induction,which hass made great progress in basic research and technical application.This kind of TENG can collect different forms of energy,including human motion,vibration,mechanical triggering,rotational kinetic energy,wind energy and water energy,ect.Despite intensive research,TENGs can only collect the energy stored in bulk water;reports on harvesting environmental mechanical energy from small scale water sources,including water mist,are still lacking.In this research,which is inspired by how tapered micro-pillars collect water from the mist air,a Water Mist TENG is proposed for harvesting mechanical energy from water mist.The contact area of a water droplet with a dielectric layer in the Water Mist TENG was found to be the key factor influencing the performance of the Water Mist TENG,and higher current and voltage were achieved using a tapered electrode with a large diameter or by setting multiple tapered electrodes in parallel.An increase in local ambient humidity was observed to cause a significant increase in the saturation voltage and reduce the voltage saturation time of the Water Mist TENG.However,an increase in ambient temperature and the amount of unpurified water mist degraded the performance of the Fog-TENG.By optimizing the parameters,this Water Mist TENG can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage of 9.5 V and a short-circuit current of 250 n A simultaneously.Seven commercial light-emitting diodes(LEDs)were easily lit by the Water Mist TENG,and their brightness was sensitive to varied mist flow rates.These results could inform the design and fabrication of new self-powered humidity sensors and Water Mist TENGs for collecting energy from water.