Research on Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Underwater Energy Harvesting

Abstract

The marine distributed sensor network is composed of numerous wireless sensor nodes, which are crucial for ocean development and protection. These sensors are highly dependent on batteries and difficult to operate for long working times. Therefore, developing marine energy-harvesting devices is necessary for achieving in situ self-powered sensors. According to the principle of the triboelectric effect, this study proposed a flexible triboelectric nanogenerator(F-TENG) composed of flexible polymer films, which vibrates under waves and ocean currents and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. This study established the working model of F-TENG and further explored its vibration mode and output performance. The results showed that the output performance of the F-TENG increased with the increasing amplitude, frequency, and flow rate within a certain range, and the parallel power increased with the increasing unit. This provides a new concept for realizing self-powered of marine distributed sensors.

Keywords

• flexible triboelectric nanogenerator
• marine distributed sensor network
• underwater energy harvesting