Coil-Shaped Triboelectric Nanogenerator with One-Piece Design for Multiform Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Sensors

Designing innovative triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with simple structures, high efficiency, and multifunctionality is crucial for sustainable energy development. In this work, we introduce a coil-shaped triboelectric nanogenerator (CS-TENG) through a facile and cost-effective fabrication method. The unique one-piece design enables the CS-TENG to harvest energy from multiple motion forms, including rolling, horizontal twitching, and vertical pressing, enhancing its adaptability to complex mechanical deformations. We systematically investigate the output performance and influencing factors under different motion forms and analyze the interaction effects between these motions on the output, providing insights for the development of high-performance TENGs. The experimental results indicate that the output voltage and current in the rolling form can reach up to 142 V and 5.90 μA, respectively, with an optimum power of 0.24 mW at 20 MΩ, which is sufficient for powering small commercial electronic devices. The CS-TENG achieves an output of 142 V and 5.90 μA in rolling mode with a peak power of 0.24 mW at 20 MΩ, demonstrating its potential to power small commercial electronic devices. This work offers a versatile and highly adaptable strategy for energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications.