A hybrid triboelectric nanogenerator for enhancing corrosion prevention of metal in marine environment

A hybrid spherical triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) with both solid-solid and solid-liquid contact modes is successfully constructed to collect wave energy for highly efficient cathodic protection of metals in marine. To maximize collection of wave energy, the S-TENG is designed to simultaneously capture friction energy from inside and outside the device with different working modes, achieving a short circuit current density of 186 mA m⁻³ and open circuit voltage of 88.9 V, respectively. It indicates that the potential drop of stainless steel (304SS) and organically coated carbon steel (Q235CS) coupled with the S-TENG are about 410 mV and 930 mV, respectively, which is suitable for their cathodic protection in marine environment. It is demonstrated that our S-TENG as a low-cost and environmentally friendly self-powered approach is promising to effectively converts wave energy for electrochemical cathodic protection in marine.

Menzhen Wu, Wenxi Guo, Shigang Dong, Andeng Liu, Yanhui Cao, Zijie Xu, Changjian Lin, Jian Zhang