Kitra Kartika Edi, Ifada Mazida, Farah Radhwah Nadhifah, Nidya Citraningrum, Rakhmawati Farma, Su Ching Yuan, Achmad Arifin, Sutarsis, Ragil Sukarno, Anif Jamaluddin
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are emerging energy-harvesting devices that convert mechanical energy into electricity via electrostatic interactions. Their performance is critically dependent on the choice of triboelectric materials. Recently, carbon-based materials have gained significant attention for improving the efficiency and versatility of TENGs. This paper presents a systematic review with bibliometric analysis of 733 Scopus-indexed articles published between 2013 and July 2025, examining the evolution, performance, and applications of carbon-based TENGs. The study follows the PRISMA framework for systematic reporting but does not constitute a formal meta-analysis; rather, it provides a qualitative synthesis of reported performance metrics and a bibliometric mapping of research trends. The bibliometric analysis provides a preliminary mapping of research trends, including publication growth, qualitative heuristic phase observations, and keyword clusters. These heuristic phases are presented as analytical observations to organize the narrative, not as statistically validated periodization. The systematic review focuses on the performance and mechanisms of twelve carbon-based materials. This article further identifies current challenges, such as material stability, large-scale fabrication, and integration into practical systems, and explores future directions for optimizing carbon-based TENGs across diverse applications. © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia; Research Center for Biomass and Bioproducts, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Kawasan KST Soekarno, JI Raya Bogor KM 46, Cibinong, 16911, Indonesia; Research Collaboration Centre for Carbon Materials-based Biomass for Conversion and Energy Storage, Universitas Riau and National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia; Department of Physics, Universitas Riau, Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru, 28293, Indonesia; Institute of Energy Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan; Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Institute Technology Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya, 60111, Indonesia; Department Mechanical Engineering, Yogyakarta State University, Jalan Colombo No.1, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jakarta State University, Jl. Rawamangun Muka, Jakarta Timur, 13220, Indonesia; Research of Excellence Centre of Excellence for Electrical Energy Storage Technology, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, Indonesia
