All-in-one energy harvesting system with triboelectric and thermoelectric hybrid generator and Au nanoflower supercapacitor for a light stimulation to the wildlife

The sphere of activity between the wildlife and human has been more overlapped with the enlarged infrastructure. With using the energy harvesting-storage technology, the warning signal can be easily generated and transmitted to the wildlife by a light stimulation. Here, the hybrid energy harvester with a triboelectric nanogenerator and a plate-typed thermoelectric generator is integrated with a gold nanoflower-based supercapacitor for directly storing energy. 23.7 V of the V_OC and 0.86 μA of the I_SC are generated through the triboelectric nanogenerator. For the thermoelectric generator, 40 mV and 10 mA of each electrical output are generated with the temperature difference of 6°C. The hybrid generator is optimized by changing the connection and adding components for the highest charging speed. The electrochemical characteristics of the supercapacitor are demonstrated with the cyclic voltammetry and discharging time in the galvanostatic charge-discharge test. After storing the generated energy into the fabricated supercapacitor, an external photo-sensing system is stimulated by an LED light operated by the stored electrical energy. By harvesting energy from the wildlife, the ability for providing an optical warning signal to the animals can be successfully demonstrated and open up a new field of ecologically friendly technology.