Studying about applied force and the output performance of sliding-mode triboelectric nanogenerators

Highlights: • A theoretical model for the sliding-mode TENG by considering the external force applied onto the TENG was presented firstly. • The influences of the load resistance and sliding velocity on the external forces were systematically investigated. • The theoretical results show excellent agreement with the corresponding experiments of sliding-mode TENG. Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a powerful mechanical energy harvesting technology has major applications as micro/nano-power source, for self-powered sensors and even large-scale blue energy, which would impact the world likely development for the future. In this work, a theoretical model for the sliding-mode TENG with considering the external force applied onto the TENG was presented. Through approximate analytical equations derivation, the output characteristics of TENG with arbitrary load resistance were calculated, including the output power and energy. Based on the relationships between the output characteristics and load resistance or sliding velocity, the force applied on the sliding component of TENG and the friction force were investigated for two cases, i.e., without load resistor and with load resistor. Also, the influences of the resistance and sliding velocity on the forces were investigated. Furthermore, the corresponding experiments were carried out to measure the force applied on the TENG as well as the output performance of the fabricated sliding-mode TENG. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions, which can effectively reveal the principle of applied force on the TENG and facilitate the understanding of the relationship between the power, energy and applied force.