Review of Triboelectric Nanogenerators Designs for Wave Energy Harvesting: Tailoring Strategies for Various Marine Conditions

Abstract The ocean, as the Earth's largest yet underexploited energy reservoir, harbors immense potential for development. However, the low‐frequency and low‐amplitude characteristics of oceanic waves pose significant limitations on the energy harvesting efficiency of electromagnetic generators. In contrast, advanced triboelectric nanogenerators exhibit distinct advantages in converting mechanical motion into electrical energy. This review systematically summarizes the latest developments in triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based wave energy harvesting, emphasizing the compatibility between TENG mechanical structures and wave excitation forms. It also analyzes and summarizes the wave characteristics of typical power generation structures. This review starts with the characteristics of ocean waves, comprehensively covering the structural features and technological advantages of TENG technology, and classifies and compares the energy density output of TENG in marine environments. TENG's principle, structure, and output performance are summarized based on the characteristics of ocean waves, and the challenges and prospects of TENG in intelligent ocean construction are discussed. This review aims to analyze the characteristics of waves and their corresponding TENG structures from the perspective of the design concept to provide good support for improving the TENG wave energy collection performance and accelerating the deployment of complex ocean networks.