Triboelectric Nanogenerator Tree for Harvesting Wind Energy and Illuminating in Subway Tunnel

Abstract As an important green energy in our life, natural wind energy is widely applied to generate electricity. In this work, a bionic triboelectric nanogenerator tree composed of supercells with cell I of leaf and cell II of stem is designed for harvesting wind energy by utilizing the coupling effect of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. At the wind speed of 11 m s⁻¹, the fabricated triboelectric nanogenerator tree produces an open‐circuit voltage of 330 V and a short‐circuit current of 59.6 µA. The corresponding output power is 3.6 mW at the matched resistance of 60 MΩ, and 145 light‐emitting diodes can be lightened. Furthermore, a flexible device of a triboelectric nanogenerator tree is fabricated to present potential applications for illumination and advertisement in the long tunnel through harvesting the moving‐generated wind energy. Due to the advantages of light weight, low cost, easy fabrication, and beautiful appearance, the triboelectric nanogenerator tree can find important applications in billboard illuminating, vehicle speed measuring, and so on.