Design and experimental investigations of a rotary hybrid triboelectric-electromagnetic energy harvester for scavenging wind energy

With the rapid advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT), the conventional power supply methods encounter challenges such as extensive wiring over long distances and frequent power source replacements. A sustainable power supply is highly desirable for IoT devices. In this study, a novel hybrid triboelectric-electromagnetic harvester is proposed for efficient harvesting of wind energy to sustainably power low-power electronic devices, which integrates a number of sub triboelectric energy harvesters (sub-TEHs) and sub electromagnetic energy harvesters (sub-EEHs). The sub-TEH can provide a peak output power of 67μW when the load resistance is 1 MΩ. The sub-EEH can provide a peak output power of 9.1mW when the load resistance is 200Ω. After continuous operation for 15000 cycles, the outputs of both the sub-TEH and the sub-EEH experience no significant attenuation, which indicates good durability of the design. Under a wind speed of 11 m/s, over 100 LEDs can be lit up. And a temperature-humidity sensor is able to work continuously when powered by the hybrid energy harvester via a rectifier circuit. The hybrid energy harvester exhibits good output performance and long-term stability with a simple structure and low production cost, which has great potential in wind energy harvesting and wireless environmental monitoring applications.