A team of engineers led by Gang Wang from the University of Alabama has created a curious version of a triboelectric generator that uses the simplest of components. Essentially, they are either trash or items that can be bought for a nominal sum at any hardware store. Plastic film, adhesive tape and two plates of aluminum – such a primitive device made 400 LEDs glow at once.
This is their second prototype, and it is 47% more efficient than the previous one. The plastic and adhesive tape are freely located between the metal plates, and the compression and separation of the latter generates electric charge. The advantage of the system is that the amount of charge directly depends on the pressure force, so it is possible to assemble generators of different power and size. The prototype achieved a power density of 170 W per square meter.
