A strategy to promote efficiency and durability for sliding energy harvesting by designing alternating magnetic stripe arrays in triboelectric nanogenerator

Free-standing mode triboelectric nanogenerator (F-S TENG) is supposed to be a most efficient technology for harvesting low frequency sliding energy. However, the waste of half working area and the existence of contact friction largely limit its output and reduce its durability. Here, we propose a flexible halbach magnetic arrays assisted sliding mode triboelectric nanogenerator (MA-S TENG), which multiplies its energy output and greatly increases its durability. Based on flexible magnetic sheet, the horizontal movement of fully covered sliding part can be converted into the mode of periodical contact-separation. Benefiting from this working mode, the output energy and peak power during one sliding motion are 2.7 times and over 10 times larger than the free-standing mode TENG respectively. In addition, during 25 h of continuous operation, the MA-S TENG remains 60% of its initial output compared with 1.8% for the F-S TENG. This work provides a promising strategy to address the problems of efficiency and durability existing in sliding mode TENGs in practical applications. [Display omitted] •We propose a flexible halbach magnetic arrays assisted sliding mode triboelectric nanogenerator (MA-S TENG).•Compared to traditional free-standing mode TENG with half-covered sliding part, MA-S TENG with fully-covered sliding part can maximize the energy scavenging efficiency.•MA-S TENG also provides an effective strategy to solve the durability issue in sliding/freestanding mode TENGs.