Traditional wind turbines have struggled to efficiently harvest broadband wind energy due to significant velocity fluctuations. To address this challenge, this study innovatively proposes a bio-inspired cluster wind turbine-driven hybrid triboelectric-electromagnetic generator (CWT-TEHG). The design synergistically combines multi-rotor cluster effects with Magnus effect induced orbital motion to enhance wind energy harvesting. An adaptive adjustment mechanism coordinates with an energy storage-release system to regulate the triboelectric layer interface behavior of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and optimize the operation of the electromagnetic generator (EMG), achieving efficient broadband wind to electricity conversion. Computational fluid dynamics analysis reveals the energy harvesting mechanisms, guiding parametric optimization. Experimental results demonstrate a low cut-in wind speed of 2 m s^-1, and achieves a 92.4% improvement in TENG output at 10 m s^-1 compared to TENG without orbital motion and adaptive gap regulation, with the regulated EMG reaching a peak power of 665.6 mW, and CWT-TEHG achieves a peak instantaneous wind-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 24.3% at 4 m s^-1. Field applications including self-powered bridge structural health monitoring validate the system’s practicality. This work establishes a novel strategy for low-speed and broadband wind energy harvesting while demonstrating the potential of environmental micro-energy utilization for Internet of Things self-powered applications.

Distributed hydrokinetic energy harvesting is essential for enabling sustainable self-powered sensing in aquatic environments. However, natural water flows are typically low-frequency, weak, and highly stochastic, which limits the efficiency of conventional energy harvesters. Here, a gray shark–inspired parallel flapping triboelectric nanogenerator (GS-TENG) is proposed for efficient hydrokinetic energy harvesting and environmental monitoring. A biomimetic flapping hydrofoil inspired by the streamlined morphology of the shark is developed and coupled with an energy storage–release mechanism to enhance energy capture under low-flow conditions. In addition, a deep-learning-assisted framework is employed to optimize key structural parameters of the flapping foil. The optimized biomimetic hydrofoil improves average power by 92.4% compared with the conventional NACA0015 airfoil. The energy storage–release mechanism converts irregular low-frequency flow excitation into stable rotational motion, resulting in a 71.7% enhancement in electrical output. The GS-TENG achieves a peak power of 46.65 mW and a power density of 29.32 W m^-3. Laboratory and open-channel experiments demonstrate that the GS-TENG can continuously power water temperature and water level sensors, highlighting its potential for self-powered water-environment monitoring.

The structural design of wave energy harvesting devices play a crucial role in complex marine environments. To enhance output performance of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) in small-amplitude wave environments, this paper proposes a floating design method that utilizes wave energy converter (WEC) combined with elastic support coupled TENG based on boat design concepts. Using hydrodynamic model, the study investigates various types of WEC structures, resulting in maximum energy generation for the TENG. Additionally, the coupled TENG designed with elastic support demonstrates excellent performance in various experiments. The results indicate that the power density of the coupled TENG can reach 13 W/m³. Wave testing confirms that various floating structures significant differences in TENG output performance, and the boat-type float notably enhances the performance of TENG. The boat-type TENG exhibits an increase of 155% in open-circuit voltage, 414% in short-circuit current, and 218% in transferred charge for the interpolated electrodes, compared to the lowest square-type TENG. This work presents a novel approach for WEC design and improving energy conversion efficiency in large-scale ocean wave energy collection and accelerates the industrialization process of TENG in the field of marine engineering.

As mine excavation deepens, ventilation systems often face the challenge of insufficient airflow, while the complex environment poses significant obstacles to powering monitoring and alarm sensors. Here, an integrated and efficient self-powered mine wind speed monitoring and alarm system (SLW-MAS) is proposed based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). The SLW-MAS, featuring a centrifugal structure design, facilitates hierarchical control of the TENG module, thereby enabling differential responses to wind speeds. When the wind speed is lower than 1.5 m/s, the TENG module is maintained in a horizontal working state under the action of the centrifugal mechanism and produces a high voltage output; the switch circuit is selected through experiments, which makes it meet the alarm delay of 2 s and avoids the problem of inaccurate alarm caused by unstable airflow. This work provides the feasibility for the construction of an underground distributed Internet of Things monitoring and alarm system.

The advancement of digital microfluidics technology has been pivotal in academic research and engineering applications. However, the prevailing limitation is that traditional voltage sources generate an excess of Joule heat, adversely impacting droplet operation. Moreover, the power supply equipment required by digital microfluidics limits its applications. Here, we propose a self-powered microdroplet manipulation (SMDM) via triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which presents a capability for splitting and mixing different kinds of droplets. Fundamentally, SMDM is based on the electroosmotic flow principle, thereby enabling droplet splitting in the range of from 2 to 630 μL. Notably, for droplet splitting in the range of from 5 to 60 μL, the TENG only requires a power output ranging from 2.704 to 6.084 mW. In addition, SMDM demonstrates proficiency in droplet mixing, which achieves complete mixing of 10 μL droplets in 60 s and 30 μL droplets in a mere 53 s. Therefore, leveraging the strengths of the TENG, a self-powered microdroplet manipulated system is designed for digital microfluidics. It carries significant advantages over the traditional voltage source, including self-powered, low-Joule heat, increased safety and enhanced portability. This research provides a new solution for portable applications of digital microfluidics.

The monitoring of vehicle motion states is a key factor to ensure smooth, safe, and efficient management of traffic in intelligent transportation systems. However, employing multiple sensors for vehicle motion states monitoring not only increases system costs but also complicates the wiring. Here, we propose an integrated magnetic-assisted self-powered vehicle motion sensor (MSVMS) based on a triboelectric nanogenerator for real-time monitoring of vehicle motion states, including acceleration, angular speed, and inclination angle. By introducing a magnetic repulsion adjustment system, the sensor can achieve automatic resetting and effectively monitor the vehicle’s motion state during normal driving. Experimental results indicate that the electromagnetic generator (EMG) unit can achieve a maximum peak power of 4.5 mW at an optimal load resistance of 1 kΩ. Meanwhile, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) unit demonstrated good sensing performance for acceleration, angular speed, and inclination angle, with fitting coefficients of 0.99, 0.979, and 0.978, respectively. Finally, the feasibility of the MSVMS in monitoring acceleration magnitude and direction is verified in a vehicle motion sensing system and actual vehicle test scenarios. This work further validates the potential application prospects of MSVMS in intelligent transportation systems.

Ocean wave energy is a significant and promising source of renewable energy. However, the energy harvesting is challenging due to the multi-directional nature of waves. This paper proposes a magnetic-field-assisted triboelectric nanogenerator (MFA-TENG) for harvesting multi-directional wave energy. By incorporating a magnetic field, the planar motion of the pendulum is converted into spatial motion, increasing the triggering of multilayered TENG (M-TENG) and enhancing the output energy of the MFA-TENG. Experimental results demonstrate that the output energy of the MFA-TENG is increased by 73% by utilizing the magnetic field. Moreover, a spring model based on the origami-structured M-TENG is established to analyze the effect of different equivalent stiffnesses on the performance of the M-TENG, aiming to obtain optimal output performance. The results showcase the impressive output performance of the M-TENG, generating outputs of 250 V, 18 μA, and 255 nC. Furthermore, the proposed MFA-TENG effectively harvests multi-directional wave energy under water-wave driven conditions. This study significantly enhances the ability of the MFA-TENG to harvest multi-directional wave energy and presents a promising approach for self-powered marine monitoring in the future.

The development and utilization of marine blue energy has become the focus of current research. A drawstring triboelectric nanogenerator with modular electrodes (DS-TENG) is proposed to harvest wave energy. Motion displacement and water wave adaptability are improved by using the drawstring structure in the DS-TENG. Furthermore, the modular electrode design is applied to improve the durability and replaceability of the generation units. The rationality of the structure is verified by theoretical analysis, and performance experiments on the fundamental output, displacement and frequency, durability and application are carried out. The DS-TENG can achieve output performance of 98.03 nC, 3.63 μA, 238.50 V and 923.92 µW at 150 mm and 1.0 Hz. In addition, the performance drops by 6.11% after 110,000 cycles for DS-TENG durability. This paper will provide reference for the design of TENG that adapts to a wide range of wave heights.

The development of automation industry is inseparable from the progress of sensing technology. As a promising self-powered sensing technology, the durability and stability of triboelectric sensor (TES) have always been inevitable challenges. Herein, a continuous charge supplement (CCS) strategy and an adaptive signal processing (ASP) method are proposed to improve the lifetime and robustness of TES. The CCS uses low friction brushes to increase the surface charge density of the dielectric, ensuring the reliability of sensing. A triboelectric mechanical motion sensor (TMMS) with CCS is designed, and its electrical signal is hardly attenuated after 1.5 million cycles after reasonable parameter optimization, which is unprecedented in linear TESs. After that, the dynamic characteristics of the CCS-TMMS are analyzed with error rates of less than 1% and 2% for displacement and velocity, respectively, and a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 35 dB. Also, the ASP used a signal conditioning circuit for impedance matching and analog-to-digital conversion to achieve a stable output of digital signals, while the integrated design and manufacture of each hardware module is achieved. Finally, an intelligent logistics transmission system (ILTS) capable of wirelessly monitoring multiple motion parameters is developed. This work is expected to contribute to automation industries such as smart factories and unmanned warehousing.

The wind energy in cities cannot be exploited effectively because natural wind is unstable and complex. Therefore, a triboelectric-electromagnetic hybrid generator with swing-blade structures (SBS-TEHG) was designed to effectively harvest intermittent and continuous wind energy in an urban environment. First, the spring structure and base were considered to realize the maximum output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators. Then, the computational fluid dynamics method was applied to optimize the structure of the SBS-TEHG to improve its aerodynamic performance. The starting wind speed of the SBS-TEHG was 2 m/s, and its energy conversion efficiency was 9.04%, 159% higher than that of the SBS-TEHG without guide plates at 4 m/s. The results demonstrated that the SBS-TEHG lit 105 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) under the intermittent-wind harvesting mode at a wind frequency of 1 Hz when the single swing blade operated, while a wireless PM_2.5 & PM₁₀ sensor was powered by the SBS-TEHG after a period of operation under the continuous-wind harvesting mode. The findings of this study provide a novel solution for low-speed wind energy harvesting in cities and demonstrate the potential of SBS-TEHG as a distributed energy source.