Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 176-183.doi: 10.11978/2022200CSTR: 32234.14.2022200

• Exploitation of Marine Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spring-assisted triboelectric nanogenerator for shore-based ocean wave energy harvesting

XU Qingyue1,2(), PAN Yuanchao2,3, MA Haoxiang2, LI Changzheng2, LIU Weihao2,4, XUE Liang1(), HAN Changbao3, YANG Yang2()   

  1. 1. College of Electronics and Information Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai 201306, China
    2. Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
    3. Division of Materials and Manufacturing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
    4. Institute for Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
  • Received:2022-09-23 Revised:2022-10-26 Online:2023-07-10 Published:2022-12-06
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(42222606); National Natural Science Foundation of China(62103400); National Natural Science Foundation of China(42211540003); National Key R&D Program of China(2021YFC3101300); Independent Project Deployed by Innovative Academy of Marine Information Technology of CAS(CXBS202103)

Abstract:

As one of the most important renewable energy sources, ocean wave energy is inexhaustible and has broad development potential. Herein, we propose a novel spring-assisted triboelectric nanogenerator (SS-TENG) for harvesting shore-based wave energy. SS-TENG realizes ocean wave energy conversion through the “wave-floating platform-spring” transmission structure, which avoids direct contact with seawater and minimizes the damage to the power generation module caused by a corrosive environment. The output performance of SS-TENG is significantly enhanced in two ways. First, by utilizing the elastic potential energy released by the spring, the instantaneous contact speed between the electrode and dielectric layer is boosted, and the peak current (IP) output by a single triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) unit increases from 7.36 to 12.12 μA. Second, benefiting from the synchronous movement of each TENG unit, the TENGs can be connected in parallel to achieve the linear increase of IP from 12.12 μA for a single unit to 43.86 μA for four units. SS-TENG can provide sufficient energy to drive a digital calculator and up to 160 high luminosity LEDs, verifying its superior performance. The proposed design has the merits of modest structure, low production cost, excellent output performance, and long-term stability, and is expected to inspire the development of shore-based wave energy generators and self-sufficient ocean sensors.

Key words: triboelectric nanogenerator, contact-separation, elastic potential energy, shore-based wave energy