A high output magneto-mechano-triboelectric generator enabled by accelerated water-soluble nano-bullets for powering a wireless indoor positioning system

A high-performance magneto-mechano-triboelectric nanogenerator (MMTEG) was demonstrated by introducing accelerated water-soluble nano-bullet modified nanostructures to convert a gentle magnetic field into electric energy for powering an indoor wireless positioning system. NaCl salt nanoparticles were accelerated by an aerosol deposition (AD) process to collide on a perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) film with a high kinetic energy for the formation of a complicated nanomorphology on the triboelectric active surface. Under an alternating current (AC) magnetic field of 7 Oe, the MMTEG generated an open-circuit peak-to-peak voltage (V-pp) and a short-circuit current of 708 V and 277 A, respectively. The harvesting device also presented a maximum peak power of 21.8 mW as well as a continuous AC output power of 4.8 mW (4.8 mJ per second). A self-powered indoor IoT positioning system was constructed by integrating the MMTEG, a power managing circuit, a storage element, and an IoT Bluetooth beacon. The electric energy from the MMTEG device enabled continuous operation of a beacon device, and we successfully confirmed the accurate location of the installed wireless positioning system, subsequently resulting in transmission of our indoor position to the main monitoring computer. Lastly, the MMTEG generated an open-circuit V-pp and a short-circuit current of 330 V and 23 A, respectively, near a 60 Hz power cable connected to home appliances, which were large enough to turn on 108 blue light emitting diodes (LEDs).