Omni-directional wind-driven triboelectric nanogenerator with cross-shaped dielectric film

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are actively being researched and developed to become a new external power unit for various electronics and applications. Wind is proposed as a mechanical energy source to flutter the dielectric film in wind-driven TENGs as it is clean, abundant, ubiquitous, and sustainable. Herein, we propose a TENG structure with dielectric films bent in four directions to collect the wind energy supply from all directions, unlike the conventional wind-driven TENGs which can only harvest the wind energy from one direction. Aluminum (Al) layer was intercalated within the dielectric film to improve electrostatic induction, resulting in improved triboelectric performances. Maximum open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) of 233 V, short-circuit current (I(sc)) of 348 µA, and output power density of 46.1 W m(− 2) at an external load of 1 MΩ under a wind speed of 9 m s(− 1) were revealed, and it faithfully lit “LED” characters composed of 25 LEDs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40580-021-00276-5.