Charge density is one of the most important parameters of triboelectric nanogenerators since it directly determines performance; unfortunately, it is largely restricted by the phenomenon of air breakdown. Here, we design a self-improving triboelectric nanogenerator with improved charge density. A maximum effective charge density of 490 μC m⁻² is obtained, which is about two times higher than the highest reported charge density of a triboelectric nanogenerator that operates in an air environment. At the beginning of the working process, the charge accumulation speed is increased 5.8 times in comparison with a triboelectric nanogenerator that is incorporated into the self-improving device. The self-improving triboelectric nanogenerator overcomes the restriction of air breakdown and exhibits an increased effective charge density, which contributes to the improvement of the output performance, and the increase of charge accumulation speed will accelerate the increase of the output power at the start of operation.

A new kind of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is developed based on electrospun PVDF and nylon nanowires. This nanogenerator exhibits the remarkable characteristics of easy fabrication, low cost and high output. Its open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density respectively reach up to 1163 V and 11.5 μA cm⁻² driven by the vibration with a triggering frequency of 5 Hz and an amplitude of 20 mm. The peak power density is 26.6 W m⁻². It directly powered a DC motor without an energy storage system for the first time. By harvesting energy from the environment using this TENG, a fully self-powered UVR detection device is developed to show the level of UVR directly without additional components.

High performance nanogenerators (NGs) are critically important for energy harvesting and powering micro/nano-devices. Environmentally friendly nanowires (NWs) with high piezoelectric coefficients are highly desirable for enhancing NGs’ performance and expanding their applications. In this paper, we synthesized a new kind of lead-free 0.5Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃–0.5(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)TiO₃ (BZT–BCT) NWs with high piezoelectric coefficients through the electrospinning method and subsequent calcining process. Their crystal structure and formation mechanism were systematically studied. Furthermore, BZT–BCT NWs were made into a high performance flexible NG. It could harvest weak mechanical movement energy and generate an output voltage of 3.25 V and output current of 55 nA, which is large enough to directly power a commercial liquid crystal display (LCD).