Minhao Zhu

Lawn Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Scavenging Sweeping Wind Energy on Rooftops.

A novel triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is designed, based on flexible and transparent vertical-strip arrays, for environmental wind-energy harvesting. Given the low cost, simple structure, and wide applicability, the TENGs present a green alternative to traditional methods used for large-scale wind-energy harvesting.

Rotating-Disk-Based Hybridized Electromagnetic–Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Sustainably Powering Wireless Traffic Volume Sensors

Wireless traffic volume detectors play a critical role for measuring the traffic-flow in a real-time for current Intelligent Traffic System. However, as a battery-operated electronic device, regularly replacing battery remains a great challenge, especially in the remote area and wide distribution. Here, we report a self-powered active wireless traffic volume sensor by using a rotating-disk-based hybridized nanogenerator of triboelectric nanogenerator and electromagnetic generator as the sustainable power source. Operated at a rotating rate of 1000 rpm, the device delivered an output power of 17.5 mW, corresponding to a volume power density of 55.7 W/m(3) (Pd = P/V, see Supporting Information for detailed calculation) at a loading resistance of 700 Ω. The hybridized nanogenerator was demonstrated to effectively harvest energy from wind generated by a moving vehicle through the tunnel. And the delivered power is capable of triggering a counter via a wireless transmitter for real-time monitoring the traffic volume in the tunnel. This study further expands the applications of triboelectric nanogenerators for high-performance ambient mechanical energy harvesting and as sustainable power sources for driving wireless traffic volume sensors.

Self-Powered Safety Helmet Based on Hybridized Nanogenerator for Emergency

The rapid development of Internet of Things and the related sensor technology requires sustainable power sources for their continuous operation. Scavenging and utilizing the ambient environmental energy could be a superior solution. Here, we report a self-powered helmet for emergency, which was powered by the energy converted from ambient mechanical vibration via a hybridized nanogenerator that consists of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and an electromagnetic generator (EMG). Integrating with transformers and rectifiers, the hybridized nanogenerator can deliver a power density up to 167.22 W/m(3), which was demonstrated to light up 1000 commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) instantaneously. By wearing the developed safety helmet, equipped with rationally designed hybridized nanogenerator, the harvested vibration energy from natural human motion is also capable of powering a wireless pedometer for real-time transmitting data reporting to a personal cell phone. Without adding much extra weight to a commercial one, the developed wearing helmet can be a superior sustainable power source for explorers, engineers, mine-workers under well, as well as and disaster-relief workers, especially in remote areas. This work not only presents a significant step toward energy harvesting from human biomechanical movement, but also greatly expands the applicability of TENGs as power sources for self-sustained electronics.

Enhanced performance of ZnO microballoon arrays for a triboelectric nanogenerator

In recent years, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), harvesting energy from the environment as a sustainable power source, have attracted great attention. Currently, many reports focus on the effect of surface modification on the electrical output performance of the TENG. In this work, we have fabricated vertically grown ZnO microballoon (ZnOMB) arrays on top of pyramid-featured PDMS patterned film, contacted with PTFE film to construct the TENG. The electrical output performances of the designed TENG are presented under external forces with different frequencies. The corresponding output open-circuit voltage with ZnOMBs could reach about 57 V the current density about 59 mA m-2 at 100 Hz, which was about 2.3 times higher than without any ZnO. The global maximum of the instantaneous peak power could reach 1.1 W m-2 when the external load resistance was about 2 MΩ. Furthermore, the electrical output of the fabricated device could light 30 commercial LED bulbs without any rectifier circuits or energy-storage elements. This clearly suggests that this kind of surface modification can dramatically enhance the output performance of the TENG. Moreover, the design of TENG demonstrated here can be applied to various energy harvesting applications.