Dear Colleagues,

The nanogenerator was first invented in 2005 by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang. It uses the piezoelectric potential of nanomaterials generated under strain in order to drive free electrons to flow back and forth in an external circuit. Self-powered nanosystems combine the nanogenerator with functional nanodevices in order to harvest mechanical energy from the environment into electricity to power nanodevices. It can work independently, without any other external power sources. This Special Issue focuses on state-of-the-art, international advances in these two fields (Nanogenerators and Self-powered nanosystems).

The first paper on nanogenerators was published in Science, in 2006, by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang and Dr. Jinhui Song. It demonstrates the fundamental working principle of nanogenerators, by bending a ZnO nanowire using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tip. Additionally, in that paper, the idea of a self-powered nanosystem was put forward. In 2007, DC nanogenerators, driven by ultrasonic waves, were reported. In 2008, a type of fiber-based nanogenerator, which can harvest the low frequency and weak mechanical movement energy in the environment were reported in Nature; this nanogenerator was also a wearable unit. To conquer the challenges of increasing output voltage, an AC nanogenerator was reported in 2009, in Nature Nanotechnology. Additionally, a type of integrated nanogenerator was invented and reported on in 2010 in Nature Nanotechnology; the output voltage in the nanotechnology is greater than 1 V, which means that the nanogenerator’s output can be rectified, stored, and further used to power devices. Then, many kinds of nanogenerators have been reported and their applications greatly expanded. In 2012, Prof. Zhong Lin Wang’s group reported the first organic-material-based triboelectirc nanogenerator. It uses the electrostatic charges created on the surfaces of two different materials during physical contact and separation in order to generate induced charges to harvest mechanical energy into electricity. After its invention, the development of the fundamentals of this kind of triboelectric nanogenerator’s was rapid, which quickly pushed its applications in a wide range of fields. With the great progress of these two kinds of nanogenerators (piezoelectric nanogenerator and triboelectric nanogenerator), self-powered nanosystems are being developed very rapidly. In this Special Issue, we want to report on the up-to-date research on nanogenerators, self-powered nanosystems, and their applications.

cutting-edge research topics include:

• 1D/2D piezoelectric nanostructures: synthesis, characterization, and properties
• Piezoelectric nanogenerators: dundamental studies, new design and their applications
• Triboelectric nanogenerators: dundamental studies, new design and their applications
• Hybrid energy harvesting technologies including nanogenerators
• Self-powered nanosystems: integration technology, new design, new applications

Prof. Dr. Yong Qin
Prof. Dr. Junyi Zhai
Prof. Dr. Zhong Lin Wang
Guest Editors

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• piezoeletric nanogenerator
• triboelectric nanogenerator
• self-powered nanosystem
• energy harvesting
• nanomaterial