International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 06 Issue: 07 | July 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072 © 2019, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 1925 Reviewing the Scope of Triboelectric Nanogenerators as a Feasible Solution and its Applications Khojasteh Mirza Department of Mechatronics Engineering, SVKM’s NMIMS, Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, Mumbai-400056, India. ------------------------------------------------------------------------***------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT:- With the threat of energy scarcity and environmental pollution increasing day by day, it is necessary to develop new and highly efficient technologies for harvesting energy from the environment to be used for the welfare of the society. Many forms of different mechanical energy resources are present in our surroundings - human walking energy, water flow energy, wind energy etc. - are not being used to their full potential and are getting wasted instead of being used to efficiently drive various practical and functional devices, especially small wearable electronics. Though a relatively new technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), with their simple working mechanism and easy design, can be used to harvest many forms of waste energy from the environment. 1. INTRODUCTION A simple Nanogenerator is a type of technology that converts mechanical/thermal energy as produced by small-scale physical change into electricity. There are three types - triboelectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric nanogenerators. Pyroelectrics are used for gaining energy from thermal sources and piezoelectrics and triboelectrics are used to gain energy from mechanical sources. Triboelectricity- is basically a branch or application of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged immediately after separation from a different material with which they were in contact. The triboelectric effect increases if the two materials are rubbed against each other [2]. The material properties including friction, work function, electron affinity and so on, play important roles in TENGs' output performance. Basically, nearly all materials can exhibit triboelectricity. So, pairing the right materials can achieve output in maximum. The triboelectric series is a guidance, 17 in which the capability of a material to gain or lose an electrons is shown as a qualitative indication [2]. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a self-powered, feasible solution to convert mechanical energy into electricity and specifically satisfy the increasing demand of the internet of things (IoTs). TENGs can combine the contact electrification and electrostatic induction for energy conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy to power small‐scale electronics including mobile phones and sensors. 1.1 Why Triboelectricity? With the modernization of the technology with time, the demand for energy is increasing day by day, it is necessary to find out the new sources of renewable energy. The fossil fuels upon which the maximum energy has been produced till date are going to be depleted soon. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is new source of energy firstly demonstrated by in Prof. Zhong Lin Wang's group at Georgia Institute of Technology in the year of 2012. Though a relatively new technology, a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) can be used to harvest many forms of energy from the environment which is generally wasted. It’s simple design makes it ideal for small wearable electronics. Yet the domain lacks proper research, and newer and improved versions and applications of TENGs are always on the rise. 1.2 Advantages Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs) are a new source of energy harvesting technology, having high efficiency, easy working mechanism and capable of harvesting Energy from different sources under different conditions. The properties of the triboelectric nanogenerators make them very useful for production of large power. Researchers at EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne Have developed a device that can produce the equivalent of two AA batteries using cardboard, teflon tape and carbon[11]. Contact between the teflon and the paper produces static electricity. The carbon is charged electrically and transmits its potential difference to the capacitor. Every time the capacitor is pressed, it accumulates charge [11].