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.