Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical energy from one motion using two approaches

•Integration of the single-electrode based triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) and the electromagnetic generator (EMG) to harvest the mechanical energy produced by the movement of a mass in an acrylic tube.•Performance enhancement by integration of the two generators.•Investigation of the charging performance of the hybrid energy cell that is much better than that of S-TENG or EMG.

Harvesting mechanical energy from our living environment is an effective approach for self-powered electronics. One of the key issues is how to extract more electricity from one mechanical motion. Here, we report a hybrid energy cell that consists of a single-electrode based triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) and an electromagnetic generator (EMG), which can be utilized to simultaneously scavenge mechanical energy from one mechanical motion. Due to the contact/separation between the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and the polyamide (PA) film, the S-TENG delivers an open-circuit voltage (peak to peak) of about 600 V, a short-circuit current of about 3.5 μA with a largest output power of about 0.25 mW (power per unit mass: 0.48 mW/g), which can directly light up tens of commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in series. From the same mechanical motion, the EMG can produce an open-circuit voltage of about 3 V, a short-circuit current of about 1 mA with a largest output power of 0.58 mW (power per unit mass: 5.31 μW/g), which can directly light up tens of LEDs in parallel. Moreover, the hybrid energy cell exhibits a better charging performance than that of S-TENG or EMG for charging a capacitor. This work presents a hybrid energy cell technology to simultaneously scavenge mechanical energy from one mechanical motion for self-powered electronics.

Graphical abstractHarvesting mechanical energy from our living environment is an effective approach for self-powered electronics. One of the key issues is how to extract more electricity from one mechanical motion. Here, we report a hybrid energy cell that consists of a single-electrode based triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) and an electromagnetic generator (EMG), which can be utilized to simultaneously harvest mechanical energy from one mechanical motion. Due to the contact/separation between the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and the polyamide (PA) film, the S-TENG delivers an open-circuit voltage (peak to peak) of about 600 V, a short-circuit current of 3.5 μA with a largest output power of about 0.25 mW (power per unit mass: 0.48 mW/g), which can directly light up tens of commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in series. From the same mechanical motion, the EMG can produce an open-circuit voltage of about 3 V, a short-circuit current of 1 mA with a largest output power of 0.58 mW (power per unit mass: 5.31 μW/g), which can directly light up tens of LEDs in parallel. This work presents a hybrid energy cell technology to simultaneously scavenge mechanical energy from one mechanical motion for self-powered electronics.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide