A universal self-triggered passive management strategy for enhancing the output power of triboelectric nanogenerators†

Abstract

Power management strategies are crucial for improving the energy utilization efficiency of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, existing strategies are constrained by the instability of external inputs and the static power consumption of sensors, limiting the real-world applicability of TENGs. Here, we propose a universal self-triggered passive output power management strategy (USTP-PMS) to address the challenges posed by random energy inputs and static power consumption for different modes of the TENG. This strategy effectively isolates the load from the power supply, reducing the loss caused by the load from 4.94 mW to 7.48 μW, a 660-fold reduction. Moreover, with the implementation of USTP-PMS, the output power increases from 3.1 mW at 100 MΩ to 119.8 mW at 50 Ω, achieving a 38.6-fold enhancement. More importantly, through the USTP-PMS, the TENG system enables self-triggered power supply to sensors under intermittent excitation. This study introduces a novel strategy for enhancing the energy utilization efficiency of the TENG, further advancing the TENG's potential in self-powered technologies.