‘blue energy’ harvesting device. Researchers report that simply repositioning the electrode — from the center of a see-sawing liquid-filled tube to the end where the water crashes with the most force — dramatically increased the amount of wave energy that could be harvested.Researchers have developed a “blue energy” harvesting device that has shown promising results in increasing the amount of wave energy that can be captured. The device, known as a liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), is a tube-shaped wave-energy harvesting device that converts mechanical energy into electricity as water moves inside the tube. By repositioning the electrode to the end of the tube, where the water crashes with the most force, the researchers were able to significantly improve the device’s efficiency. These findings were reported in ACS Energy Letters. Despite the positive results, the practicality of these devices for large-scale use still needs to be determined.The main advantage of e-scale applications is their low energy output. Guozhang Dai, Kai Yin, Junliang Yan and colleagues aimed to increase a liquid-solid TENG’s energy harvesting ability by optimizing the location of the energy-collecting electrode.
To achieve this, the researchers used 16-inch clear plastic tubes to create two TENGs. In the first device, they placed a copper foil electrode at the center of the tube, which is the usual location in conventional liquid-solid TENGs. However, for the new design, they inserted a copper foil electrode at one end of the tube. After filling the tubes a quarter of the way with water and sealing the ends, a wire connected the electrode.The researchers tested a new design for a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that uses water flow to generate electrical current. By optimizing the design, they were able to increase the device’s conversion of mechanical energy to electrical current by 2.4 times compared to the conventional design. The TENG was able to blink an array of 35 LEDs on and off as water entered the tube covered by the electrode and then flowed away. This was achieved by placing the TENG and an external circuit on a benchtop rocker, which moved water back and forth within the tubes and produced electrical currents through the friction from water hitting or sliding against the electrodes.These demonstrations are a foundation for harvesting blue energy from ocean waves on a larger scale and also demonstrate the potential of the device for applications such as wireless underwater signaling communications.
The authors received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and utilized computing resources from the High Performance Computing Center of Central South University.
Journal Reference:
- Hao Zhang, Guozhang Dai, Yuguang Luo, Tingwei Zheng, Tengxiao Xiongsong, Kai Yin rn, Junliang Yang. Enhancing Output Performance of Tube Liquid–Solid Triboelectric Nanogenerator through Space Volume Effect. ACS Energy Letters, 2024; 1431 DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c00072