High-performance triboelectric nanogenerator based on ZrB₂/polydimethylsiloxane for metal corrosion protection

Metal corrosion causes billions of dollars of economic losses yearly. As a smart and new energy-harvesting device, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can convert almost all mechanical energy into electricity, which leads to great prospects in metal corrosion prevention and cathodic protection. In this work, flexible TENGs were designed to use the energy harvested by flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films with ZrB₂ nanoparticles and effectively improve the dielectric constant by incorporating ZrB₂. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current were 264 V and 22.9 µA, respectively, and the power density of the TENGs reached 6 W·m⁻². Furthermore, a self-powered anti-corrosion system was designed by the rectifier circuit integrated with TENGs, and the open-circuit potential (OCP) and Tafel curves showed that the system had an excellent anti-corrosion effect on carbon steel. Thus, the system has broad application prospects in fields such as metal cultural relics, ocean engineering, and industry.