Hybrid energy system based on solar cell and self-healing/self-cleaning triboelectric nanogenerator

Solar cells acted as sustainable energy harvest are quickly spread across the worldwide. However, the output performance of solar cells is dramatically reduced in rainy day and the potential mechanical damages to the surface solar cell may also suppress its output capability. Herein, we propose a hybrid energy system consisted of a solar cell and a self-healing/self-cleaning triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for harvesting both solar and raindrop energies. The application of self-healable TENG for hybrid energy system has been a challenging task, since it is difficult to maintain both the super-hydrophobicity and healable capability for the electrification surface of TENG. This self-healable and transparent TENG shows an excellent output performance under rainy day with a peak short-circuit current of 0.8 mu A and a peak open-circuit voltage of 6 V, respectively, while it can work very well with solar cell under sunny days. The self-healing TENG with elastic texture can serve as a protection layer for the solar cell, where the broken risk of the solar cell can be significantly suppressed. This proposed hybrid energy system can be used as a compensation for the currently widely used solar cells and provide a promising strategy to harvest energy from multiple sources.

Automated summary

This study introduces a hybrid energy system consisting of a solar cell and a self-healing/self-cleaning TENG to harvest both solar and raindrop energies, addressing the issue of reduced output performance of solar cells in rainy days. The self-healing and transparent TENG shows excellent output performance in rainy days and acts as a protective layer for the solar cell.