Achieving a highly efficient triboelectric nanogenerator via a charge reversion process

Many efforts have been devoted to improving the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, achieving a high surface charge density (SCD) and an efficient energy utilization remains challenging. Here, a TENG based on a charge reversion process arising from the electrostatic breakdown effect has been designed, which is supported by a modified dielectric capacitance model. The SCD increases 8-fold without being affected by the initial contact efficiency of materials. Furthermore, the output energy of TENG is enhanced significantly, after using the power management system (PMS) made by a simple circuit design, and the average output power density enhances 22-fold at 5 V compared to that without using PMS. This work not only proposes a strategy for building highly efficient TENGs, but also establishes a modified dielectric capacitance model considering the air breakdown effect for understanding the surface charge transfer behavior in TENGs.