Triboelectric and Electromagnetic Hybrid Nanogenerator Based on a Crankshaft Piston System as a Multifunctional Energy Harvesting Device

Mechanical vibrations are ubiquitous and enriched energy sources found in everyday environments. However, harvesting these energies, such as from water flowing in the ocean and wind energy, remains a significant challenge due to their irregular, discontinuous, low-vibration frequencies. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) exhibits an effective approach to convert these low frequency mechanical energies into electrical energy. In this work, a new triboelectric and electromagnetic hybrid nanogenerator is fabricated by designing a crankshaft system that consists of a delicate crankshaft and a piston based off the physical vibration characteristics of tidal energy, wind energy, and other rotational energies. This newly designed hybrid nanogenerator demonstrates a high efficiency to harvest rotary energy and a wide range of other rotational energies using the vertical contact–separation mode nanogenerator with much lower friction. The device delivers an output power of 0.08 mW cm−2, and an electromagnetic generator is added to widen the capacity of the device to also collect energies with higher vibration frequencies. Moreover, this hybrid device can be employed in many fields, such as harvesting rotational energy from the wind and ocean. This device can replace the conventional linear motor to avoid or reduce electromagnetic interferences during precise microdevice testing processing.