Networks of High Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on Liquid-Solid Interface Contact Electrification for Harvesting Low-Frequency Blue Energy

Blue energy harvested from the ocean is an important and promising renewable energy for the sustainable development of society. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are considered one of the most promising approaches for harvesting blue energy. In this work, a liquid-solid-contact triboelectric nanogenerator (LS TENG) is fabricated to enhance the friction and magnify energy output by 48.7 times, when compared with the solid-solid-contact TENG with the same area. The buoy-like LS TENG can harvest energy from different types of low-frequency vibration (including up-down, shaking, and rotation movements). Moreover, the outputs of the LS TENGs network can reach 290 mu A, 16 725 nC, and 300 V, and the LS TENGs network can directly power hundreds of LEDs and drive a radio frequency emitter to form a self-powered wireless save our souls (SOS) system for ocean emergencies. This work renders an innovative and effective approach toward large-scale blue energy harvesting and applications.