Harsh environment-tolerant and robust triboelectric nanogenerators for mechanical-energy harvesting, sensing, and energy storage in a smart home

Ever-increasing demand for energy is driving efforts to develop environmentally sustainable technologies that can harvest and store energy. Energy-harvesting technologies that use renewable energy sources are preferable when designing sustainable and self-charging electronic devices. Large quantities of mechanical energy are available in typical homes. Fabricating a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to harvest such energy could provide a renewable source of power for a variety of devices. However, practical TENGs have proven elusive due to a scarcity of triboelectric materials. Here, we describe the utilization of plastic and electronic waste commonly available in homes to fabricate a smart-home-applicable TENG (SHA-TENG). Because electrical performance depends on the triboelectric series, device structure is examined comprehensively. Voltage, current, charge density, and power density values of similar to 300 V, similar to 15 mu A, similar to 70 mu C/m(2), and similar to 54 W/m(2) are achievable, respectively. The resulting lightweight SHA-TENG is a smart-home fabricable device that can withstand in a harsh environment. Furthermore, the TENG can not only be employed to harvest mechanical energy and directly applied to power portable electronics, but it can also be used in self-charging energy-storage systems and motion/anti-thief sensors, as demonstrated by combing it with a power management circuit to create a self-charging lithium-ion battery. A circuit that detects spikes in voltage from the SHA-TENG in various parts of the home can serve as a smart-home motion sensor. When placed in different regions of the home, the SHA-TENG can sense motion, harvest mechanical energy involved in everyday human activities, and power various portable electronic devices.

Automated summary

The article discusses the development of a smart-home-applicable TENG using plastic and electronic waste commonly found in homes, which can provide renewable energy for various devices and has the capability to be integrated into smart-home systems. The TENG device demonstrates good electrical performance and can be used for self-charging energy storage systems and motion sensors in addition to powering portable electronics.