Secondary Power Generation via Charge Recombination in Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are critical technologies for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, typically representing a real-time power generation process that follows mechanical motion. Here, we strategically introduce a static power generation mechanism for TENGs, based on the spontaneous recombination of triboelectric charge pairs (TCPs), attributed to the weak charge trapping ability of specific dielectric polymers. By eliminating the adverse effects of the charge blocking layer, the recombination time of TCPs is shortened to 2.3 s. The proposed TENG generates power twice in one motion: one representing the generation of TCPs induced by dynamic mechanical motion and the other representing the spontaneous recombination of TCPs. The generation and recombination of TPCs, along with the combination of dynamic and static electricity generation, opens up a completely new approach for TENGs to harvest environmental energy. This may have significant implications for material selection and structural design in future TENG developments.