Renewable energy harvesting technologies, which convert ambient resources such as wind into electrical energy, have attracted significant attention as sustainable power sources for self-powered systems. However, the long-term applicability of wind energy harvesters in remote or extreme environments has not yet been fully discussed, particularly in terms of structural robustness and environmental adaptability. In this study, we designed a double-clamped flutter-type triboelectric generator (DFTEG) for efficient wind energy harvesting and evaluated its output performance under various simulated outdoor conditions. The DFTEG features a modular acrylic frame with a magnet-based assembly for easy maintenance and film replacement, utilizing PTFE films and aluminum electrodes to maximize the charge density difference according to the triboelectric series. Structural optimization revealed that a single-film configuration with a length of 110 mm produced the most stable flutter vibration and a large effective contact area, achieving a maximum open-circuit voltage of 42.28 V and a short-circuit current of 2.89 μA. Furthermore, performance evaluations under various environmental variables, including relative humidity, temperature, and sand particles interference, confirmed consistent electrical output across diverse environmental conditions. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed DFTEG as an environmentadaptive independent power source capable of stable operation under complex environmental factors.

Metamaterials, as artificially engineered structures with unconventional mechanical and acoustic properties, have recently emerged as a transformative platform for enhancing the capabilities of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) systems. Since the invention of TENG devices, extensive efforts have been devoted to improving charge density, output stability, and overall performance. Conventional performance optimization strategies mainly rely on device-level improvements such as surface chemistry modification, microstructuring, and nanopatterning. However, limited emphasis has been given to system-level development of smart self-powered intelligent systems. The integration of metamaterials into TENG devices opens a new era by enabling frequency-selective localization, mechanical impedance matching, and controllable deformation pathways. These engineered mechanical structures not only improve energy harvesting efficiency but also introduce new functionalities into the system. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in metamaterial-integrated TENG systems across four major application domains: (i) energy harvesting, (ii) acoustic telecommunication and acoustic-to-electric conversion, (iii) self-powered sensing, and (iv) vibration suppression and monitoring. Overall, the integration of metamaterials into TENG systems will pave the way for next-generation sustainable, intelligent, self-powered devices with diverse functionalities.

With the extensive industrial growth driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the excessive use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated global warming. Energy harvesting technologies have garnered significant attention as a potential solution to this issue. Among them, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as promising candidates for energy collection and conversion. However, TENGs typically face limitations in providing an efficient energy supply due to their high output voltage and low output current. To overcome these challenges, numerous studies have explored various methods to enhance the output performance by increasing the surface area of the triboelectric materials. Herein, we report a high-output TENG fabricated through a simple scratch process. By utilizing sandpaper, typically used for abrasion or polishing, the surface roughness of the triboelectric material PFA was increased through surface scratching. The surface-engineered TENG, prepared through this simple and rapid process, demonstrated enhanced output characteristics with a voltage of 276 V and a current of 72 μA, showing a 21% increase in voltage and a 41% increase in current compared to the non-engineered counterpart, providing sufficient energy to power an LED. These results indicate that the scratch-based surface modification process using sandpaper offers an effective solution for improving triboelectric output performance, establishing TENGs as a key contributor to sustainable energy supply.

Recent studies have focused on enhancing the efficiency of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) using aluminum (Al) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This research investigates how surface morphology and material structure affect energy generation. By layering PDMS/Al and creating pyramid-shaped patterns, the study found that increasing the number of PDMS/Al layers significantly boosts the output voltage, reaching over 234 mV with three layers. Additionally, increasing the number of pyramid structures from 1 to 36 on PDMS surfaces, while maintaining the same contact area, led to a notable rise in generated voltage due to charge concentration at the pyramid tips. Higher pyramid angles also amplified this effect. These results highlight the importance of structural optimization in maximizing the energy output of TENGs, offering a promising route for more efficient energy harvesting.

The Internet of Things (IoT) device is a key component for Industry 4.0, which is the network in homes, factories, buildings, and infrastructures to monitor and control the systems. To demonstrate the IoT network, batteries are widely utilized as power sources, and the batteries inevitably require repeated replacement due to their limited capacity. Magneto-mechanoelectric (MME) generators are one of the candidate to develop self-powered IoT systems since MME generators can harvest electricity from stray alternating current (AC) magnetic fields arising from electric power cables. Herein, we report a magnetomechano- triboelectric generator enabled by a ferromagnetic-ferroelectric composite. In the triboelectric nylon matrix, a ferromagnetic carbonyl iron powder (CIP) was introduced to induce magnetic force near the AC magnetic field for MME harvesting. Additionally, a ferroelectric ceramic powder was also added to the MME composite material to enhance the chargetrapping capability during triboelectric harvesting. The final ferromagnetic-ferroelectric composite-based MME triboelectric harvester can generate an open-circuit voltage and a short-circuit current of 110 V and 8 μA, respectively, which were enough to turn on a light emitting diode (LED) and charge a capacitor. These results verify the feasibility of the MME triboelectric generator for not only harvesting electricity from an AC magnetic field but also for various self-powered IoT applications.

A triboelectric nanogenerator is a promising energy harvester operated by the combined mechanism of electrostatic induction and contact electrification. It has attracting attention as eco-friendly and sustainable energy generators by harvesting wasting mechanical energies. However, the power generated in the natural environment is accompanied by low frequencies, so that the output power under such input conditions is normally insufficient amount for a variety of industrial applications. In this study, we introduce a non-contact rotational triboelectric nanogenerator using pedaling and gear systems (called by P-TENG), which has a mechanism that produces high power by using rack gear and pinion gear when a large force by a pedal is given. We design the system can rotate the shaft to which the rotor is connected through the conversion of vertical motion to rotational motion between the rack gear and the pinion gear. Furthermore, the system controls the one directional rotation due to the engagement rotation of the two pinion gears and the one-way needle roller bearing. The TENG with a 2 mm gap between the rotor and the stator produces about the power of 200 __ and turns on 82 LEDs under the condition of 800 rpm. We expect that P-TENG can be used in a variety of applications such as operating portable electronics or sterilizing contaminated water.

Triboelectric devices are attracting attention from researchers as self-powered electronic systems that can instantly convert mechanical input into electrical energy output. To improve triboelectric energy harvesting performance, increasing the number of contacts as well as the contact area has been carried out by numerous researchers. In this study, we design a shaker-type energy harvester which is called as maracas triboelectric generator (M-TEG), inspired by the structure of maracas, one of the musical percussion instruments. A tripod frame is inserted to the inside of a cylindrical case, which is a device with the electrodes of aluminum and copper. Then, the triboelectric energy harvesting characteristics between polypropylene (PP) balls and the electrodes are measured. The M-TEG with the frame generates the energy harvesting signals up to ~100 V and ~2.5 μA due to larger contact area and numbers, which enhances the voltage and current output by 250% and 610% compared to that without the frame, respectively. This study presents the feasibility of self-powered sensors and toys using improved triboelectric energy performance with a low-cost and simple manufacturing process in the interesting structure.

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, and has been considered as a substitute for continuous power supply due to its high performance, simple structure and eco-friendliness. Recently, it is important to develop a TENG using a non-toxic material in order to use it as a power source for wearable, attachable, and body-embeddable electronics. Here, we developed a human friendly TENG using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel containing acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC), a non-toxic plasticizer. PVC gels were fabricated using various ratios of PVC and ATBC, and optimized by investigating dielectric properties, surface potential, output performance, and durability. The PVC gel based TENG generates output signals of 73 V and 4.3 μA, i.e., a 5-fold enhancement in the output power compared to pristine PVC-based TENG. In addition, the PVC gel can be stretched over 500% of strain. This study is expected to be helpful in the future development of non-toxic wearable TENG.

Energy harvesting technologies that can convert wasted various energy into usable electrical energy have been widely investigated to overcome the limitation of batteries for the powering of IoT sensors and small electronic devices. Hybrid energy harvesting is known as a technology that enhances the output power of single energy harvesting device by housing two or more various energy harvesting mechanisms. In this study, we introduce a hybrid MME (Magneto-Mechano-Electric) generator coupled with the triboelectric effect. Through FEA modeling, four triboelectric materials, including PI (Polyimide), PFA(Teflon), Cu, and Al, were selected and compared with the expected triboelectric potentials. The effect of surface morphology was investigated as well. Among various combination of triboelectric materials and surface morphologies, PFA-Al combination with the surface morphology having nano-scale square projections showed highest output potential under triboelectrification. It is also experimentally confirmed that output voltage and power of the hybrid MME generator with triboelectric material combinations.

Liquid-based Triboelectric nanogenerator (L-TENG) is one of the alternatives to solid-based Triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) because of the absence of surface damage which can decrease the durability of the generator. However, the L-TENG also has an obvious drawback of significantly lower output than that of S-TENG. This article produces water-sloshing-based electricity generating device (W-ED) with a new design of L-TENG that improves electrical output in portable form. The dual-electrode system, consisting of closed-loop circuit and inner electrode which enables water to contact directly in the bottle, can generate the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current of up to 348 V and 5.1 mA, respectively. By investigating the motion of water for each frequency, we propose that W-ED is suitable device for a variety of human motions. We expect that W-ED can be applied in small electrical devices or sensors in daily-use items.