3D stacked PDMS membrane based triboelectric nanogenerator(TENG) for harvesting energy from wind

Abstract

In this work, we propose a 3D stacked triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that harvests ambient air-flow energy by wind-induced membrane vibration. By placing identical triple-layered membrane as bridge array between two aluminum plates, very thin (~1mm) device is developed. The output characteristics are observed to be multiplied through stacking the devices vertically. Three stacked device shows 1μA of peak short circuit current, 400nA of average short circuit current for 10 m/s wind velocity and 0.14μA/m/s of wind sensitivity. Harvesting wind energy for two differently oriented wind directions is also demonstrated through cross stacking. This work can be applied to various self-powered systems such as wireless sensor network and self-sustainable electronic devices.