Advances in triboelectric nanogenerator technology—applications in self-powered sensors, Internet of things, biomedicine, and blue energy

With the need for artificial intelligence and distributed energy, to power all electronics and sensors is becoming a major challenge. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a technology that harvests environmental energy and converts it into electrical energy, which can convert ambient energy into electrical energy through a coupling of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. It is considered a reliable alternative to centralized power supply, which can make up for the shortcomings of traditional power generation technology. Here, this review introduces four different TENG, especially the fabrication methods and applications, including (1) TENG-based self-powered sensors, (2) TENG for biomedicine, (3) TENG for Internet of things (IoTs), and (4) TENG for blue energy harvesting. Meanwhile, the fabrication methods and characteristics of four different TENG are discussed and introduced in detail respectively, and the emerging applications’ prospects of different TENG are also introduced. This review is not only introducing the current application directions and fabrication methods of TENG, but also providing guidance for the future development of TENG.