Water electrification based triboelectric nanogenerator integrated harmonic oscillator for waste mechanical energy harvesting

•A triboelectric mechanism for harvesting intermittent impulse excitation was proposed.•Harmonic oscillator driven water contact electrification was used for the TENG device.•Unidirectional output along with excessive running time was obtained for one trigger.•Self-powered applications regarding human activities were designed and implemented. Harvesting waste mechanical energy in the surroundings, especially from human and transportation activities, has a great potential for the forthcoming sustainable energy development. With the invention of triboelectric nanogenerators and owing to their universal design, lightweight, low cost, and high efficiency, it has given rise to the rapid growth of this research topic. Herein, an impulsive kinetic energy regulator is presented to convert the mechanical energy from impulse collision into electrical energy. A harmonic oscillator is utilized to regulate the interchange of input kinetic energy and stored potential energy during operation and, through the mechanical motion rectifier, engages the rotary solid–liquid TENG with excessive running time. The performance evaluation of the device is realized under two schemes including both a vertical and horizontal direction effort. As a result, the device can produce an output energy of 25.13 nJ with a maximum current density of 2.29nA·cm−2 concerning a single vertical incentive; whilst, the horizontal direction effort obtains an output energy of 25.43 nJ with a maximum current density of 2.41nA·cm−2. Moreover, the device can power up a few LEDs with human footstep excitation and a wireless-based sensor during boom barrier gate operation, which shows a good possibility in waste mechanical energy harvesting.