Reciprocating Charge Circulation-Driven Superlinear Output Scaling of Triboelectric Nanogenerator Arrays.

Abstract

Stacking and arraying triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) represents an essential pathway toward practical, large-scale mechanical energy harvesting. However, standard parallel arrays yield a mere linear summation at best, which in practice frequently degrades into sub-linear outputs (1+1≤2) due to intrinsic power losses and phase mismatches. Here, we report a synergistic phase-reconfigurable switching strategy that breaks this bottleneck through cyclic charge circulation. Synchronizing dynamic network topology with intrinsic capacitance variations induces a cyclic charge compounding effect. This reciprocal flow enhances localized electrostatic induction, forming a feedback loop that boosts transferred charge and short-circuit current by 471% and 246%, respectively, yielding a 976% power enhancement over parallel arrays, thereby demonstrating "1+1>2" performance enhancement. Crucially, this robust growth accommodates variable phase differences and asynchronous cycles across diverse modes, yielding 3.2- and 7.9-fold enhancements in charge and current for a hybrid contact-separation/sliding system. Furthermore, the strategy swiftly recovers from air breakdown, clearing reversed charges in just 27.34 s, far superior to conventional parallel arrays. Demonstrating this capability, a boat-shaped wave energy harvester delivers 2.4 µC and 0.35 mA for wireless multi-parameter environmental monitoring. This work overcomes a critical barrier in interconnected TENG networks, establishing a robust framework for high-performance, large-scale energy harvesting systems.