Solid-liquid triboelectric nanogenerators (SL-TENGs) have shown promising prospects in energy harvesting and application from water resources. However, the low contact separation speed, small contact area, and long contacting time during solid-liquid electrification severely limit their output properties and further applications. Here, by leveraging the rheological properties of gas-liquid two-phase flow and the Venturi-like design, we circumvent these limitations and develop a previously unknown gas-liquid two-phase flow-based TENG (GL-TENG) that can achieve ultrahigh voltage and volumetric charge density of 3789 volts and 859 millicoulombs per cubic meter, respectively. With a high-power output of 143.6 kilowatts per cubic meter, a 24-watt commercial lamp can be directly lighted by a continuous-flow GL-TENG device. The high performance displayed SL-TENGs in this work provides a promising strategy for the practical application of solid-liquid TENGs in energy harvesting and sensing applications.
15 June 2020 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
In this work, a novel water tumbler with a super-hydrophobic+Janus+super-hydrophilic (SHB+Janus+SHL) structure is designed, which can achieve high floatation and a low gravity center.
The collector ring/carbon brush assembly of a hydrogenerator set is a critical component for transmitting excitation current into the self-exciting winding. Its operating environment necessitates excellent corrosion resistance and current-carrying frictional properties. The surface condition and material composition of the collector ring are key factors influencing the performance of the brush/ring interface. Coatings have proven effective in enhancing both tribological and corrosion-resistant characteristics. In this study, copper/graphene composite coatings were fabricated via electroplating, and the effects of graphene deposition rate on current-carrying friction characteristics were systematically investigated to optimize electroplating parameters. The results showed that the composite coating reduced contact resistance by 32.58% and friction coefficient by 37.59%. Electrochemical and immersion tests were conducted to evaluate the corrosion behavior under varying pressure and current density conditions. The results revealed that the optimal corrosion resistance was achieved under 1 N pressure and 12 A/cm2 current density. The copper/graphene composite coating demonstrated superior corrosion resistance compared to uncoated samples. In summary, the electroplated copper/graphene composite coatings exhibit excellent current-carrying frictional performance and corrosion resistance, offering a promising solution for enhancing the durability and efficiency of hydrogenerator collector rings.