Self-Powered Buoy Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Nanofiber-Enhanced Surface for Efficient Wave Energy Harvesting

The power supply capacity of ocean buoy systems is thecurrentbottleneck for distributed devices in the ocean. Securing a cleanand sustainable energy supply through a wave buoy is an urgent andeffective way to harvest blue energy. However, traditional self-poweredbuoy design usually depends on the floater geometry and sinker sizes,leading to higher fabrication costs. In this work, we designed a nanofiber-enhancedbuoy-triggered TENG (B-TENG) with a double helical origami structure,in which the dielectric layer used cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) asan additive for low cost and ease of manufacture. To improve the outputpower of TENGs, the friction layer Eco/CNC film attached to the tribo-layerand electrode can switch from a 2D planar to 3D origami structurefreely and significantly improve the output performance of TENGs.The peak short-circuit current of 3D origami TENG stabilizes over100 & mu;A on slap loads, with a power density of 13 mW/cm(2). Meanwhile, the working mechanism of the 3D origami TENG was alsostudied using COMSOL software. The corresponding B-TENG can easilylight up 100 blue LEDs (rated power, 60 mW) under the slow water wavemotions, demonstrating the potential of harvesting blue energy inactual water circumstances. These findings provide invaluable guidancefor the performance optimization of a buoy-shaped TENG in practicalapplications.