A tri-functional integrated hybrid energy harvester for the efficient collection of low-frequency environmental vibrational energy

To address the power supply challenges of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, this study proposes a novel tri-functional integrated hybrid energy harvester (TF-HEH) for efficiently capturing low-frequency environmental vibrations. The TF-HEH integrates triboelectric, electromagnetic, and piezoelectric mechanisms within a compact, 60 g cylindrical structure. Optimized for a 40 mm magnet length, the proposed TF-HEH exhibited high efficiency in converting vibrations into electricity, with peak outputs of 13 μW (pipe wall triboelectric generator), 17 μW (pipe cap triboelectric generator), 51.2 μW (piezoelectric nanogenerators), and 12.3 mW (electromagnetic generator) under a swing input with a 0.5 Hz frequency and 30° amplitude. The lightweight and portable design renders the device suitable for self-powered sensor operation in IoT applications.