Durability is a critical concern for triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) since it significantly impacts their output performance and stability. To address this issue, TENGs designed with rolling rods/balls have been developed to reduce surface wear. However, their line/point contact severely reduces the charge generation capability of triboelectric surfaces. Therefore, developing TENGs with both high output performance and low interface wear remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose a contact-sliding-separation motion strategy to realize a TENG with high output performance and remarkable durability. Compared to the contact-separation mode TENG, the contact-sliding-separation mode TENG (CSS-TENG) exhibits a 1000% increase in charge generation and a 35.6 times increase in output power. The CSS-TENG retains 99.8% of its output after 200 000 cycles, with an average triboelectric layer mass loss of 0.2 mg per 10 000 cycles with a diameter of 50 mm (<4% of the free-standing mode TENG). Furthermore, an integrated device is also designed, achieving a peak power density of 18.0 W m⁻³. Finally, after power management, the CSS-TENG generates a direct current of 3.7 mA, lighting ten 30 W lamps. This study addresses the limitations of the existing TENGs and offers a promising solution for developing high-performance TENGs.

A quantitative standard based on the internal equivalent circuit is proposed to evaluate the effects of different factors on the outputs of the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) in various modes. This paper establishes the relationship between the equivalent circuits and TENGs, and then explores the influence of mechanical structures (e.g. contact area and film thickness) and external excitations (e.g. applied force, displacement distance, and triggering frequency) on output power and matching reactance by the normalization method. Moreover, the prototypes are fabricated to verify the rationality and feasibility of normalization. Experimental results show that the order of influencing factors is contact area > film thickness > applied force > displacement distance. The influence of frequency on the normal-directional moving TENG is greater than that on the tangential-directional moving TENG. This work provides a reference for quantifying the outputs of TENGs with different structures.