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In the new energy era, ocean wave energy is recognized as one of the most important clean and renewable energy sources. As an advanced energy technology, developing triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) to harvest ocean wave energy has become a promising research direction. However, for most of the current fully enclosed TENGs or liquid–solid TENGs, the industrialization is limited. In this work, a TENG with a new working scheme is proposed for water wave energy harvesting. Through designing the opposite dynamic electric‐double‐layers, the efficient conversion of water kinetic energy into electrical energy is achieved. Moreover, the TENG structure is extended to an array. Under irregular water waves, the TENG array exhibits desired output performance, with the stable output current of 60.0 µA, output voltage of 60.0 V, and average power density of 5.38 W m−3. Finally, the TENG array is demonstrated to successfully power signal spotlights, the digital thermometer and the water quality detector. This study not only broadens the research ideas for TENGs, but also provides a new mechanism for the ocean wave energy exploitation, which is of great significance to the industrialization of TENGs and blue energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing hydrogen energy produced by water electrolysis is conducive to carbon neutrality from a technological point of view. However, this perspective is restrained by the high electricity cost in commercial development. Powering electrochemical reactions by renewable electricity converted from distributed mechanical energy can lead to commercial electric energy saving and cost reduction. In this work, a self‐powered electrochemical system (SPECS) is proposed for the conversion from blue energy of ocean waves to green energy via hydrogen fuel. This system consists of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) devices and an electrolyzer, where the TENG devices serve as ocean wave energy harvesters for electricity generation, while the seawater‐containing electrolyzer is employed for hydrogen generation. After power management on the output of the TENGs and electrochemical reaction optimization, the system can generate hydrogen at a rate of 814.8 µL m‐2 d‐1 and a Faraday efficiency of 69.1% under ideal operation conditions, demonstrating the practical potential of the constructed system toward carbon neutralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet of things in the context of the ocean is vitally important. For ships sailing on the wide ocean in adverse weather conditions, evasion of marine islands and reefs is crucial to ensure safe navigation. Here, a hybrid wave energy harvesting nanogenerator is proposed (HW‐NG) as a power source for long‐distance wireless transmission, and demonstrated a self‐powered route avoidance warning system for ocean navigation. The HW‐NG is developed based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and an electromagnetic generator (EMG), integrated by a pendulum structure. The TENG based on a contact‐separation mode is designed into a spring‐assisted multilayered structure, in which the EMG unit is well hybridized. Simply relying on the energy extracted from water waves, the HW‐NG can establish long‐distance (1.5 km) communication nodes on the sea. In application, a large HW‐NG network could be developed in the adjacent water areas of islands or reefs. With a network formed by hundreds of thousands of HW‐NGs, the forewarning signal transmission could be realized per second on the sea. More importantly, the wireless emitting is spontaneous through the designed automatic switch module. This work demonstrates a practicable strategy for ensuring safety of sea transportation based on wave energy collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean waves are considered to be one of the most promising renewable energy sources, and harvesting such energy via triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) is an effective strategy toward large‐scale blue energy. However, most previous optimization schemes of TENG cannot meet the demands of practical applications. In this work, a new charge excitation circuit (CEC) with advantages of integration, high efficiency, and minimum impedance is developed specially for TENGs to harvest water wave energy. The TENG with the CEC exhibits significantly improved output performance, with a maximum power of 25.8 mW and power density of 49.3 W m−3, and a 208 times enhanced current of 25.1 mA is achieved. Furthermore, a scheme of integrating TENG network and CECs is proposed for realizing large‐scale wave energy harvesting. The charge excitation TENG network is demonstrated to successfully power a digital thermometer and a wireless communication system with mobile phone through transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals for remote environmental monitoring. This study not only offers a strategy to greatly enhance the output performance of TENG networks in water wave energy harvesting, but also provides useful guidance for constructing maritime communication platform based on blue energy toward a maritime internet of things system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean wave energy is a promising renewable energy source, but harvesting such irregular, "random," and mostly ultra‐low frequency energies is rather challenging due to technological limitations. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a potential efficient technology for scavenging ocean wave energy. Here, a robust swing‐structured triboelectric nanogenerator (SS‐TENG) with high energy conversion efficiency for ultra‐low frequency water wave energy harvesting is reported. The swing structure inside the cylindrical TENG greatly elongates its operation time, accompanied with multiplied output frequency. The design of the air gap and flexible dielectric brushes enable mininized frictional resistance and sustainable triboelectric charges, leading to enhanced robustness and durability. The TENG performance is controlled by external triggering conditions, with a long swing time of 88 s and a high energy conversion efficiency, as well as undiminished performance after continuous triggering for 4 00 000 cycles. Furthermore, the SS‐TENG is demonstrated to effectively harvest water wave energy. Portable electronic devices are successfully powered for self‐powered sensing and environment monitoring. Due to the excellent performance of the distinctive mechanism and structure, the SS‐TENG in this work provides a good candidate for harvesting blue energy on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]