Whirligig-Inspired Hybrid Nanogenerator for Multi-strategy Energy Harvesting

Portable energy solutions are highly desired in the era of the Internet of Things for powering various distributed microelectronic devices. At the same time, the energy crisis and catastrophic global warming are becoming serious problems in the world, emphasizing the urgent need for clean and renewable energy. Here, we report a low-cost, high-performance, and portable hand-driven whirligig structured triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid nanogenerator (whirligig-HNG) for multi-strategy energy harvesting. The whirligig-HNG comprises a dynamic supercoiling TENG via the pulling-strings and inner-distributed EMGs (variable number) in the rotator. The whirligig structure can readily convert linear displacement in low frequency into rotary motion in extremely high frequency. Based on this ingenious design, the whirligig-HNG is capable to harvest the triboelectric energy from the supercoiling/uncoiling process from the pulling strings and simultaneously utilize the high-frequency rotation energy via electromagnetic induction. We have systematically investigated the working mechanism of the whirligig-HNG for coupled energy harvesting and compared the individual characteristics of TENG and EMG. The whirligig-HNG is successfully demonstrated to light up more than 100 commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and drive portable electronics. This research presents the enormous potential of whirligig-HNG as a manual and portable power supply for powering various portable electronics.

Automated summary

In this study, a low-cost, high-performance, and portable hand-driven whirligig structured triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid nanogenerator (whirligig-HNG) is reported for multi-strategy energy harvesting. The whirligig-HNG is capable of harvesting triboelectric energy from the supercoiling/uncoiling process of pulling strings and utilizing high-frequency rotation energy via electromagnetic induction.