Highly Efficient Raindrop Energy-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Self-Powered Intelligent Greenhouse

ACS Nano. 2021 Jul 27;15(7):12314-12323. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.1c04258. Epub 2021 Jun 30.

Abstract

Establishing a sustainable energy supply is necessary for intelligent greenhouse environmental management. Compared with traditional energy, green and eco-friendly energy is more conducive to protecting the agricultural production environment. In this study, a fluorinated superhydrophobic greenhouse film is proposed as a negative triboelectric layer material for the construction of a triboelectric nanogenerator that harvests raindrop energy (RDE-TENG). Moreover, an upgraded configuration is adopted, where the bulk effect between the lower/upper electrode and film replaces the interfacial effect of the liquid-solid interface, thereby promoting charge transfer. The results show that the RDE-TENG can serve as a sustainable energy source for greenhouse temperature and humidity sensors that assists in realizing intelligent control of the environment and guides agricultural production processes. This device exhibits high-voltage and a stable output; thus, it has the potential to replace traditional energy sources, which helps toward realizing a self-powered intelligent greenhouse planting mode.

Keywords: greenhouse film; raindrop energy; self-powered greenhouse; superhydrophobic; triboelectric nanogenerator.