Triboelectric nanogenerators enabled internet of things: A survey

As pioneering information technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) targets at building an infrastructure of embedded devices and networks of connected objects, to offer omnipresent ecosystem and interaction across billions of smart devices, sensors, and actuators. The deployment of IoT calls for decentralized power supplies, self-powered sensors, and wireless transmission technologies, which have brought both opportunities and challenges to the existing solutions, especially when the network scales up. The Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs), recently developed for mechanical energy harvesting and mechanical-to-electrical signal conversion, have the natural properties of energy and information, which have demonstrated high potentials in various applications of IoT. This context provides a comprehensive review of TENG enabled IoT and discusses the most popular and significant divisions. Firstly, the basic principle of TENG is re-examined in this article. Subsequently, a comprehensive and detailed review is given to the concept of IoT, followed by the scientific development of the TENG enabled IoT. Finally, the future of this evolving area is addressed.