Self-Excited Cooperative Energy Management Circuit for Enhancing the Output Performance of Triboelectric Nanogenerators

The ultimate output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is mainly determined by the surface charge density and energy management efficiency. Many methods have been proposed to enhance the surface charge density of TENGs, yet they do not simultaneously achieve power management. Therefore, a self-excited cooperative energy management (SCEM) circuit is proposed that couples a self-charge excitation circuit, a switched capacitor converter, and a BUCK circuit to achieve active enhancement of TENGs’ surface charge density, effective reduction of output impedance, and constant voltage output, thereby significantly improving the overall performance. The SCEM circuit innovatively solves the problem of time domain inconsistency between the TENG self-charging excitation and switching power management circuit, significantly enhancing the output performance. Compared to the TENG without a SCEM circuit, the single-cycle output charge of a TENG with a SCEM circuit increases from 61 nC to 18.93 μC, an increase of 310.3 times, and the charging efficiency of the capacitor increases by 2238.6 times. Furthermore, a self-powered system integrated with the SCEM circuit is capable of continuously and stably powering commercial sensors, illuminating six 3 W bulbs, and charging a lithium battery. This work significantly enhances the TENG charge output capability, advancing the development and practical application of TENG energy management circuits.