Nano Energy (2015) 11, 162–170

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nanoenergy

RAPID COMMUNICATION

Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical

energy from one motion using two approaches
Yingchun Wua, Xue Wanga, Ya Yanga,n, Zhong Lin Wanga,b,n

a
Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
b
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,
Georgia 30332-0245, United States

Received 17 September 2014; received in revised form 20 October 2014; accepted 30 October 2014
Available online 10 November 2014

KEYWORDS Abstract
Triboelectric nano- Harvesting mechanical energy from our living environment is an effective approach for self-
generator; powered electronics. One of the key issues is how to extract more electricity from one
Electromagnetic gen- mechanical motion. Here, we report a hybrid energy cell that consists of a single-electrode
erator; based triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG) and an electromagnetic generator (EMG), which can
Hybrid energy cells;
be utilized to simultaneously scavenge mechanical energy from one mechanical motion. Due to
Charged Li-ion
the contact/separation between the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and the polyamide (PA)
batteries
film, the S-TENG delivers an open-circuit voltage (peak to peak) of about 600 V, a short-circuit
current of about 3.5 μA with a largest output power of about 0.25 mW (power per unit mass:
0.48 mW/g), which can directly light up tens of commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in series.
From the same mechanical motion, the EMG can produce an open-circuit voltage of about 3 V, a
short-circuit current of about 1 mA with a largest output power of 0.58 mW (power per unit mass:
5.31 μW/g), which can directly light up tens of LEDs in parallel. Moreover, the hybrid energy cell
exhibits a better charging performance than that of S-TENG or EMG for charging a capacitor. This
work presents a hybrid energy cell technology to simultaneously scavenge mechanical energy
from one mechanical motion for self-powered electronics.
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction

n
Corresponding authors at: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy
and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
Tel.: + 86 010 82854696.
E-mail addresses: yayang@binn.cas.cn (Y. Yang),
zlwang@gatech.edu (Z.L. Wang).
The emerging technologies for harvesting mechanical energy
from our living environment to power some personal electro-
nics have attracted increasing interest due to the extensive
availability of mechanical energy [1–3]. Currently, the con-
ventional approaches of mechanical energy harvesting have

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.10.035
2211-2855/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical energy from one motion using two approaches
been actively developed by using the electromagnetic and
piezoelectric effects [4–6]. In 2012, the coupling between
triboelectrification and electrostatic induction has been
utilized to fabricate the triboelectric nanogenerators
(TENGs) for scavenging the mechanical energy from impacts,
sliding, and rotations [7–11]. The recent invention of single-
electrode based TENGs (S-TENGs) have expanded the poten-
tial applications further and decreased the fabrication cost of
the devices [12–14]. Although different types of generators
have been demonstrated to scavenge the mechanical energy,
one of the key issues is how to obtain more electricity from
one mechanical motion. A possible approach is to utilize the
two kinds of generators to simultaneously scavenge the
mechanical energy from one motion. The difficulty is how
to design the two generators that can simultaneously and
effectively work under the same mechanical motions.
Usually, the purpose of developing hybrid energy cells is to
simultaneously/individually harvest several kinds of energies
by using an integrated device, so that the sensors or personal
devices can be powered by using whatever energy that is
available at their working environments [15,16]. Although
some hybrid energy cells have been designed to simulta-
neously/individually scavenge the mechanical, solar, and
thermal energies [17,18], there are few reports about the
hybrid energy cells that can simultaneously scavenge
mechanical energy from one motion, which can not only
increase the conversion efficiency of the device, but also
greatly expand the potential applications of the hybrid
energy cells. The TENG can scavenge the mechanical energy
from the contact/separation between two triboelectric
materials, and the electromagnetic generator (EMG) can also
work from the relative movement between the magnet and
the coil [19–21]. By integrating the triboelectric materials,
the magnets, and the coil, it is possible to utilize the TENG
and the EMG for simultaneously harvesting the mechanical
energy from the same mechanical motions. Although the
previous integration of two generators shows that a mass was
used as the driving force by vibration in a cylindrical tube to
deliver the output of the generators [20], the working mode
of the TENG with double electrodes requires that the
electrode on the mass needs to be connected with a
conductive wire for the effective output, which may limit
the movement distance of the mass and the working life of
the device due to the broken wire induced by the mass
vibration [22]. The S-TENG is an ideal solution for the long
distance movement of the mass in the device and the long
working life of the device due to no need of the electrode or
conductive wire attached on the mass [23], which may be
used to integrate with the EMG for the hybrid energy cells.
In this article, we report a hybrid energy cell that consists
of an S-TENG and an EMG, which can simultaneously harvest
mechanical energy from one motion. The fabricated S-TENG is
based on periodic contact/separation between a polydi-
methylsiloxane (PDMS) film and a polyamide (PA) film. By
utilizing the coupling between triboelectric effect and elec-
trostatic effect, the periodic change in distance between the
PDMS film and the PA film can result in the charge transfer
between the Al electrode at the bottom of the PA film and the
ground. The S-TENG delivers an open-circuit voltage (peak to
peak) of 600 V, a short-circuit current of 3.5 μA with a largest
output power of about 0.25 mW, which can directly light up
tens of commercial light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in series. From
163
the same mechanical motions, the EMG can produce an open-
circuit voltage of 3 V, a short-circuit current of 1 mA with a
largest output power of 0.58 mW, which can directly light up
tens of LEDs in parallel. The produced energy by the hybrid
energy cell can be also stored in a capacitor or a Li-ion
battery. This work is an important progress toward the
techniques of simultaneous harvesting mechanical energy
and the practical applications of the hybrid energy cells as
the energy power sources for powering some electronics.
Experimental section
Fabrication of the hybrid energy cell
The fabricated hybrid energy cell consists of an S-TENG and
an EMG in an acrylic tube. The micro-structured PDMS films
were fabricated by using a Si master with the surface of
pyramid structures. The mixture of PDMS elastomer and
cross-linker with a 10:1 ratio (w/w) was spin-coated onto
the Si master. The PDMS film with the surface pyramid
micro-structures were peeled off from the Si master after it
was cured at 353 K for 1 h in an oven. Actually, the hybrid
energy cell consists of a fixed part with a top-opening
hollow tube surrounded with coils of 5000 turns at the
bottom of the tube and a floating part with a magnet in
acrylic cylinder that was connected with a spring at the
both sides. When the floating part vibrates in the acrylic
tube, the contact/separation between the PDMS and the PA
film can induce the charge transfer between the Al elec-
trode and the ground, resulting in the output of the S-TENG.
Under the same mechanical motions, the relative change in
distance between the magnet and the coils will result in the
output of the EMG. The weights of the S-TENG and EMG are
about 0.52 g and 109.23 g, respectively.
Measurement of the fabricated devices
The output current signals of the hybrid energy cells were
measured by a low-noise current preamplifier (Stanford
Research SR570). The output voltage signals of the hybrid
energy cells were connected with an electrometer with very
large input resistance. The output performance of the
hybrid energy cell was measured on an electro-dynamic
shaker under the different vibration frequencies.
Results and discussion
The fabricated hybrid energy cell consists of an S-TENG and an
EMG in an acrylic tube, as schematically illustrated in Fig. 1a,
where a cylindrical mass was connected with two circular
acrylic sheets by using two springs and a magnet was put into
the cylindrical mass. The coils of about 5000 turns were
fabricated at the bottom of the acrylic tube. Since it is
difficult to see the contact/separation between the PA and the
PDMS at the bottom of the acrylic tube in the 3-D image, the
inset in Fig. 1a illustrates the 2-D image at the bottom of the
device, clearly showing the detailed layers. The PDMS film at
the top of the mass can be used as the triboelectric material
for fabricating another S-TENG on the top of the acrylic tube.
Since the S-TENGs at the two ends of the acrylic tube have the
164
Fig. 1 (a) Schematic diagram of the hybrid energy cell. (b) Photograph of the hybrid energy cell. (c) Photograph of the mass in the
device. (d) SEM image of the PDMS film. (e) The sketches that illustrate the electricity generation process in a full cycle of the
S-TENG under the relative motions between the PDMS and PA films.
same output performances, we only measured the output
voltage/current of the bottom S-TENG in this study. Fig. 1b
depicts a photograph of the hybrid energy cell (dimensions:
45 mm  45 mm  200 mm for the acrylic tube), where the S-
TENG can work under the contact/separation between the
PDMS film and the PA film, which can also induce the relative
motions between the magnet and the coils, resulting in the
working of the EMG. As shown in Fig. 1c, the two PDMS films
were placed on the two acrylic sheets, respectively. A
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of pyramid struc-
tures is displayed in Fig. 1d, indicating that the micro-pyramid
structures were uniformly distributed on the surface of PDMS
with an average size of smaller than 10 μm, which is able to
largely increase the effective contact area, resulting in a
better output performance of the S-TENG.
A cycle of the electricity generation process of the S-TENG
is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1e. At the original position,
Y. Wu et al.
the PDMS layer fully contacts with the PA film at the bottom
of the acrylic tube. Since PDMS is much more triboelectrically
negative than PA, electrons are injected from PA into PDMS,
resulting in positive triboelectric charges on the PA side and
negative charges on the PDMS side. Once a relative displace-
ment is established between the PDMS layer and the PA film,
the uncompensated positive triboelectric charges on the PA
film will drive free electrons to flow from ground to the Al
electrode on the PA film for screening the positive tribo-
electric charges, resulting in a positive output voltage/
current signal. The flow of inductive electrons can last until
the relative displacement reaches the maximum. At this fully
displaced position, most of the positive triboelectric charges
are neutralized by the inductive electrons, resulting in that
no more electron can flow in the external circuit. Subse-
quently, as the relative displacement is decreased by the
motion of mass, the induced electrons on the Al electrode
Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical energy from one motion using two approaches 165

will flow back to the ground until that the fully aligned
position is recovered, resulting in a negative output voltage/
current signal. Therefore, in the entire contact/separation
process, an alternating current can be produced in the
external circuit. The working process of the EMG is based
on the change in the relative distance between the coils and
the magnet.
To understand the working mechanism of the S-TENGs
further, the electric potential distribution in the TENGs and
the charge transfer between the Al electrode and ground can
be verified by using the finite element simulation (COMSOL).
As illustrated in Fig. 2a, the constructed model consists of a
PDMS film, a PA film, and an Al electrode with the dimensions
(diameter of 32 mm and thickness of 1 mm), where the Al
electrode was grounded. The triboelectric charge densities on
the surfaces of the PDMS and PA were assumed to be -10 and
10 μC/m2, respectively. As shown in Fig. 2b, the calculated
results of the electric potential distribution in the device
indicate that the electric potential on the PDMS film was found
to decrease dramatically with approaching the PA film, as also
displayed in Fig. 2c. Fig. 2d depicts the changes of the total
charge quantity on the Al electrode at the different distances
between the PDMS and PA films. The charge quantity increases
with increasing the distance, resulting in the output voltage/
current signals.
Fig. 3a displays that the EMG delivers a short-circuit
current of about 1 mA and an open-circuit voltage of about
3 V under the vibration frequency of about 22 Hz. Under the
same mechanical motions, the S-TENG produces an open-
circuit voltage (peak to peak) of about 600 V and a short-
circuit current of about 3.5 μA, as depicted in Fig. 3b. Fig. 3c
illustrates the output current and voltage of the EMG under
the different vibration frequencies, indicating that both the
current and voltage increase with increasing the vibration

Fig. 2 (a) Schematic diagram of the model for the COMSOL calculation. (b) Finite element simulation of the electric potential
distribution in the S-TENG under the different distances between the PDMS and PA films. (c) Electric potential of the PDMS film under
the different distances between the PDMS and PA films. (d) The total charges on the Al electrode as a function of the distance
between the PDMS and PA films.
166 Y. Wu et al.

Fig. 3 (a) Measured short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of the EMG. (b) Measured short-circuit current and open-circuit
voltage of the S-TENG. (c) Dependence of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of the EMG on the external vibration
frequencies. (d) Dependence of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of the S-TENG on the external vibration frequencies.
(e) Plots of the measured current and the power of the EMG versus the loading resistance. (f) Plots of the measured current and
power of the S-TENG versus the loading resistance.
Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical energy from one motion using two approaches 167

frequency of smaller than 22 Hz, and then decrease with
increasing the frequency of larger than 22 Hz. Under the
same vibration conditions, the S-TENG exhibits the similar
change of the output current and voltage, as illustrated in
Fig. 3d. Usually, the largest output power of the energy
device depends on the match with the loading resistance.
Fig. 3e displays the changes in both output current and the
power of EMG under the different loading resistance, indi-
cating that the current decreases with increasing the loading
resistance. The instantaneous power increases in the resis-
tance region from 0 to 10 kΩ, and then decreases under the
larger loading resistance (410 kΩ). The largest output power
of EMG is about 0.58 mW at a loading resistance of about
10 kΩ. For the S-TENG, the output current decreases with
increasing the loading resistance, as depicted in Fig. 3f. The
corresponding output power of the S-TENG was plotted as a
function of the loading resistance, showing that the maximum
value can reach about 0.25 mW at a loading resistance of
100 MΩ.
To demonstrate the capability of the hybrid energy cell as a
power source, it was connected to tens of commercial LEDs,
where these LEDs were divided into two groups. The letters
“HYBRID” consist of 57 red LEDs connected in parallel for the
EMG by using a bridge rectification circuit, while another 16
green LEDs were connected in series at the top and bottom of
the letters for the S-TENG. Fig. 4a illustrates a photograph of a
hybrid energy cell and the commercial LEDs. All the LEDs can
be lighted up by the hybrid energy cell under the vibration
frequency of about 22 Hz, as shown in Fig. 4b. For a energy
device, it is necessary to store the produced energy by using

Fig. 4 (a) Photograph of the LEDs connected with the hybrid energy cell. (b) Photograph of the LEDs with the letters “HYBRID” that
can be lighted up by the hybrid energy cell. (c) The measured voltage of a 10 μF capacitor charged by the S-TENG, EMG, and the
hybrid energy cell (S-TENG//EMG by using two bridge rectification circuits). (d) Voltage curve of a Li-ion battery charged by the
hybrid energy cell, with the subsequent constant current discharge at 0.2 mA.
168 Y. Wu et al.

Fig. 5 (a,b) Measured short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of the EMG under the dropping heights of 100 mm (a) and
300 mm (b). (c) Dependence of the largest short-circuit current peak and open-circuit voltage peak of the EMG on the dropping
height of the mass in the device. (d,e) Measured short-circuit current density and open-circuit voltage of the S-TENG under the
dropping heights of 100 mm (d) and 300 mm (e). (f) Dependence of the largest short-circuit current density and open-circuit voltage
of the S-TENG on the dropping height of the mass in the device. (g) The measured voltage of a 100 μF capacitor charged by the
hybrid energy cell with the different dropping heights of the mass. (h) Dependence of the charged voltage and the stored electricity
energy in the capacitor on the dropping height of the mass in the device.
Hybrid energy cell for harvesting mechanical energy from one motion using two approaches
some energy storage devices such as capacitors and Li-ion
batteries. Fig. 4c displays the charging curves of the EMG,
S-TENG, and the hybrid energy cell (EMG//S-TENG) units for
charging a capacitor of 10 μF, where two bridge rectification
circuits were used for the EMG and S-TENG, respectively, and
the rectified signals were then connected in parallel. As
compared with the EMG or S-TENG, the hybrid energy cell
has the highest charging voltage under the same charging
time, indicating that the fabricated hybrid energy cell has
much better charging performance than that of individual
energy units. Fig. 4d presents the hybrid energy cell-charging
and the subsequent constant-current discharging curves of a
Li-ion battery. The Li-ion battery can be charged by the hybrid
energy cell from 0.7 to 1.6 V in about 7339 s. Under a constant
discharging current of 0.2 mA, the discharging time of the
charged Li-ion battery is about 409 s before the voltage got
back to the original value of 0.7 V, resulting in that the stored
electric capacity is about 22.7 μAh.
Meanwhile, to demonstrate how to use the hybrid energy
cell to simultaneously scavenge the mechanical energy
further, the output performances of the device were measured
under the different dropping heights of the mass. Due to the
coupling between the gravitational energy of mass and the
elastic potential energy of the spring, several voltage/current
peaks can be observed under one drop of the mass in the
device, aiming at obtaining more electricity. Fig. 5a and b
display the output signals of the EMG under the dropping
heights of 100 and 300 mm, respectively. Both the output
voltage and current signals decrease with increasing the
movement time of the mass, clearly showing the conversion
between the gravitational energy and the elastic potential
energy. Fig. 5c illustrates the largest output current and
output voltage of the EMG under the different heights,
showing a linear increase trend. Under the same mechanical
motions, the S-TENG also produces the multiple current/
voltage pulse peaks, as depicted in Fig. 5d and e. Both the
output current density and the output voltage increase with
increasing the dropping heights of the mass, as shown in
Fig. 5f. For the EMG, it has a low resistance so that the current
can flow in the EMG device when both the open-circuit voltage
and the short-circuit current were measured. The obtained
curves for the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit
current have the similar change tendencies, as displayed in
Fig. 3a. Thus the values of both current and voltage of EMG
are symmetrical between plus and minus ones. For the
S-TENG, it has a large resistance so that the current cannot
flow in both the external circuit and the S-TENG device when
the open-circuit voltage was measured. However, the current
can flow in the external circuit when the short-circuit current
was measured. We can clearly see that the flow conditions of
the current are different when the open-circuit voltage and
the short-circuit current of the S-TENG were measured. Thus
the obtained curves for the short-current and the open-circuit
voltage are different, as shown in Fig. 5d. By using two bridge
rectification circuits, Fig. 5g displays the charging curves of a
100 μF capacitor by using the one drop induced the multiple
motions of the mass in the device under the different dropping
heights. The capacitor can be charged from 0 to 1.3 V under
the dropping height of 300 mm. The produced charging
voltage increases with increasing the dropping heights, as
illustrated in Fig. 5h. The obtained energy is about 82 μJ under
the height of 300 mm.
169
Conclusion
In summary, we have demonstrated a hybrid energy that
consists of an S-TENG and an EMG, which can be utilized to
simultaneously scavenge the mechanical energy from one
mechanical motion. The working mechanism of the S-TENG
is based on the charge transfer between the Al electrode
and ground due to the contact/separation between the
PDMS and PA films. The S-TENG produces an open-circuit
voltage (peak to peak) of about 600 V, a short-circuit
current of 3.5 μA with a largest output power of about
0.25 mW (power per unit mass: 0.48 mW/g). Under the
same mechanical motions, the EMG can produce an open-
circuit voltage of about 3 V, a short-circuit current of about
1 mA with a largest output power of 0.58 mW (power per
unit mass: 5.31 μW/g). The hybrid energy cells have been
used to directly light up tens of LED in series and in parallel.
Moreover, the hybrid energy cell has the better charging
performance than that of S-TENG or EMG for a capacitor.
This invention will push forward a significant step toward
the mechanical energy simultaneous harvesting techniques
and practical applications of the hybrid energy cells as the
power sources.
Acknowledgments
Research was supported by NSFC (NO. 61404034) and the
“Thousands Talents” program for pioneer researcher and his
innovation team, China.
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Yingchun Wu is a M.E. candidate in the
research group of Ya Yang at Beijing Insti-
tute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystem. Her
research interest mainly focus on hybrid
nanoenergy cell and nanogenerator devel-
opment, and its application for some perso-
nal electronic devices, and some novel
applications.
and understanding fundamental physical properties of oxide nano-
belts and nanowires, as well as applications of nanowires in energy
sciences, electronics, optoelectronics and biological science. His
discovery and breakthroughs in developing nanogenerators estab-
lished the principle and technological roadmap for harvesting
mechanical energy from the environment and biological systems
for powering a personal electronics. His research on self-powered
nanosystems has inspired the worldwide effort in academia and
industry for studying energy of or micro-nano-systems, which is now
a distinct disciplinary in energy research and future sensor networks. He
coined and pioneered the field of piezotronics and piezo-phototronics
by introducing piezoelectric potential gated charge transport process in
fabricating new electronic and optoelectronic devices. Details can be
found at: http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu.

Xue Wang is a M.E. candidate in the

research group of Ya Yang at Beijing Insti-
tute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystem. His
research interest mainly focus on hybrid
nanoenergy cells and the applications for
some personal electronic devices, and some
novel applications.

Ya Yang received his Ph.D. in Materials

Science and Engineering from University of
Science and Technology Beijing, China. He is
currently a research scientist at Beijing
Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems,
CAS. His main research interests focus on
the field of pyroelectric, piezoelectric, tri-
boelectric, and thermoelectric nanogenera-
tors for energy conversion, storage and
some novel applications.

Zhong Lin (ZL) Wang received his Ph.D.

from Arizona State University in physics.
He now is the Hightower Chair in Materials
Science and Engineering, Regents’ Profes-
sor, Engineering Distinguished Professor and
Director, Center for Nanostructure Charac-
terization, at Georgia Tech. Dr. Wang has
made original and innovative contributions
to the synthesis, discovery, characterization