Continuous Energy Harvesting from Ubiquitous Humidity Gradients using Liquid-Infused Nanofluidics

作者：Zheng, Shuang^*; Tang, Jiayue; Lv, Dong; Wang, Mi; Yang, Xuan; Hou, Changshun; Yi, Bo; Lu, Gang; Hao, Ruiran; Wang, Mingzhan; Wang, Yanlei^*; He, Hongyan; Yao, Xi^*

来源：Advanced Materials, 2022, 34(4): 2106410.

DOI：10.1002/adma.202106410

• clean energy
• humidity
• nanofluidics
• slippery surfaces
• sweating surfaces

Humidity-based power generation that converts internal energy of water molecules into electricity is an emerging approach for harvesting clean energy from nature. Here it is proposed that intrinsic gradient within a humidity field near sweating surfaces, such as rivers, soil, or animal skin, is a promising power resource when integrated with liquid-infused nanofluidics. Specifically, capillary-stabilized ionic liquid (IL, Omim(+)Cl(-)) film is exposed to the above humidity field to create a sustained transmembrane water-content difference, which enables asymmetric ion-diffusion across the nanoconfined fluidics, facilitating long-term electricity generation with the power density of approximate to 12.11 mu W cm(-2). This high record is attributed to the nanoconfined IL that integrates van der Waals and electrostatic interactions to block movement of Omim(+) clusters while allowing for directional diffusion of moisture-liberated Cl+. This humidity gradient triggers large ion-diffusion flux for power generation indicates great potential of sweating surfaces considering that most of the earth is covered by water or soil.

• 单位
  北京航空航天大学; 中国科学院研究生院