Abstract
The ocean is regarded as a significant resource for renewable energy development. The use of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provides an effective approach to capturing energy from low-frequency, random, and disorganized water waves. In this paper, the solid–liquid elastic pendulum (SLEP)-TENG is designed for omnidirectional blue energy harvesting applications. Differentiating from traditional designs, the proposed TENG has a simple, reliable, and durable flexible pendulum structure with a spherical shell and a solid counterweight at the bottom that can absorb the impact of ocean waves efficiently. The structure also has a hollow hexagonal space that allows it to generate a larger contact area when it is subjected to wave impacts from different directions. Under low-speed lateral motion conditions (at frequencies below 0.83 Hz), its open-circuit voltage VOC, short circuit current ISC, and power density Pm can reach up to 486.8 V, 16.9 µA, and 10.26 W m−3, respectively, which is sufficient to power more than 450 commercial light-emitting diodes. By storing electrical power in small capacitors, the TENG can support small power-consuming devices, e.g., thermometers and calculators. Therefore, the SLEP-TENG has great potential for use in combination with Internet of Things devices to enable self-powered sensing system construction in complex ocean areas.