Overcoming Current Limitations in Triboelectric Nanogenerators via Passive Power Management and Zinc Telluride Material Engineering

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are promising energy harvesters for wearable and IoT applications due to their ability to generate high voltages from low-frequency mechanical motion. However, their practical deployment is severely limited by intrinsically low current output caused by high internal impedance. In this work, we address this limitation through a combined materials- and circuit-level strategy. A flexible ZnTe–PVA/FEP TENG is developed by introducing zinc telluride (ZnTe) as a novel tribopositive material, followed by systematic optimization of composition and operating parameters. The optimized device achieves an open-circuit voltage of approximately 410 V, a short-circuit current of 61 μA, and a power density of 4.03 W m⁻². To convert the high-voltage, low-current output into practical usable power, a fully passive Zener-triggered silicon-controlled rectifier-based power-management unit (PMU) is integrated. The PMU autonomously accumulates charge and releases it as threshold-activated current bursts, increasing the effective output from the microampere range to milliampere-level pulses. As a result, a 100 μF capacitor is charged to above 12 V within 200 s, storing approximately 7.2 mJ, about 14 times higher than without the PMU, while achieving a power transfer efficiency approaching 97%. The integrated system reliably powers LCD stopwatches, pedometers, and a 50-LED array under periodic mechanical excitation. This work demonstrates that combining semiconductor-based triboelectric material engineering with passive, low-loss power management provides a scalable and practical pathway for overcoming the current bottleneck of TENGs, significantly advancing their applicability in self-powered electronic systems.