Service behavior of triboelectric nanogenerators: Bridging the gap between prototypes and applications

The triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), suppling power for freely mobile and distributed electronic equipment from Internet of Things, have been considered as “the energy for the new era”. Research on the service behavior has become increasingly important for achieving the reliability evaluation and life prediction of TENGs, as TENGs advance from prototypes to practical applications. Due to the wide selection of materials, the diversity of device structures, and the complexity of working environment, TENGs show unique characteristics in the service behavior. These dilemmas lead to the fact that systematical summary of service behavior for TENGs is still in its infancy. Here, the progresses of the service behavior for TENGs are comprehensively reviewed from the influence of environmental factors on the service performance of TENGs to the impact of TENGs during the service on their surroundings. We summed up the performance evolution of TENGs in the real environment and the reproducibility of TENGs of which the electrical output will be restored after failure. Then, the service adaptability of TENG is systematically discussed, including the biological and environmental compatibility. Finally, the challenges and opportunities that the related research faced are proposed to promote the emerging technology from laboratory to factory.