Energy harvesting that are able to operate in higher temperature gradients, and that can conduct electricity well without also conducting heat (something that was until recently thought impossible ), will result in increased efficiency. Future work in thermoelectrics could be to convert wasted heat, such as in automobile engine combustion, into electricity. This type of harvesting is based on the changing capacitance of vibration-dependent capacitors. Vibrations separate the plates of a charged variable capacitor, and mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Electrostatic energy harvesters need a polarization source to work and to convert mechanical energy from vibrations into electricity. The polarization
Energy harvesting system. One drawback is that the piezoelectric cantilever has gradient strain distribution, i.e., the piezoelectric transducer is not fully utilized. To address this issue, triangle shaped and L-shaped cantilever are proposed for uniform strain distribution. In 2018, Soochow University researchers reported hybridizing a triboelectric nanogenerator and a silicon solar cell by sharing a mutual electrode. This device can collect solar energy "or" convert the mechanical energy of falling raindrops into electricity. Brothers Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie gave the concept of piezoelectric effect in 1880. Piezoelectric effect converts mechanical strain into voltage or electric current and generates electric energy from