A Comprehensive Review of Advancements and Challenges from Solid-Solid to Liquid-Solid Triboelectric Nanogenerators

As the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels and the ever-present need to address environmental concerns are faced, the development of efficient and sustainable energy harvesting techniques gains more and more significance. The liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has emerged as a promising solution for harvesting mechanical energy in water. Although the liquid-solid contact electrification technique is studied by numerous researchers, there is still a need to enhance energy harvesting efficiency in liquid-solid TENG. This comprehensive review discusses recent advances in kinetic energy harvesting from water, focusing on the solid-solid and liquid-solid interaction mechanisms when using TENGs as an energy conversion medium. The review summarizes the recent developments in structure design and material improvements, as well as hybridization with other generators as methods of enhancing the output performance of TENG. Besides discussing advancements of TENG, the potential impact and future challenges of liquid-solid TENG are highlighted. This paper provides insight into the current state of knowledge and the future directions of research in the field of liquid-solid TENG energy harvesting. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer significant potential in energy harvesting. The unique electric generation method and diverse structure enable the TENGs to harvest wind, wave, human motion, and other energies from different materials. This review examines the advancement from solid-solid TENG to liquid-solid TENG and discusses the challenges that TENGs face in the future.image