Reciprocating Charge Circulation‐Driven Superlinear Output Scaling of Triboelectric Nanogenerator Arrays

Abstract

ABSTRACT Stacking and arraying triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) represents an essential pathway toward practical, large‐scale mechanical energy harvesting. However, standard parallel arrays yield a mere linear summation at best, which in practice frequently degrades into sub‐linear outputs (1+1≤2) due to intrinsic power losses and phase mismatches. Here, we report a synergistic phase‐reconfigurable switching strategy that breaks this bottleneck through cyclic charge circulation. Synchronizing dynamic network topology with intrinsic capacitance variations induces a cyclic charge compounding effect. This reciprocal flow enhances localized electrostatic induction, forming a feedback loop that boosts transferred charge and short‐circuit current by 471% and 246%, respectively, yielding a 976% power enhancement over parallel arrays, thereby demonstrating “1+1>2” performance enhancement. Crucially, this robust growth accommodates variable phase differences and asynchronous cycles across diverse modes, yielding 3.2‐ and 7.9‐fold enhancements in charge and current for a hybrid contact‐separation/sliding system. Furthermore, the strategy swiftly recovers from air breakdown, clearing reversed charges in just 27.34 s, far superior to conventional parallel arrays. Demonstrating this capability, a boat‐shaped wave energy harvester delivers 2.4 µC and 0.35 mA for wireless multi‐parameter environmental monitoring. This work overcomes a critical barrier in interconnected TENG networks, establishing a robust framework for high‐performance, large‐scale energy harvesting systems.