Electrical current nanogeneration driven by spontaneous nanofluidic oscillations

GIMENEZ, R.; BELLINO, M. G.; MERCURI, M.; BERLI, C. L. A.

Nanoscale

Royal Society of Chemistry

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2018 vol. 10 p. 3144 - 3147

2040-3364

Exploiting natural phenomena is a central route for providing electricity to sustainably drive wearable electronics. Here we report a nano-scale water-driven energy generator that produces tiny electrical currents from spontaneous wetting?drying oscillations in mesoporous thin films. The system was fabricated with a wormlike mesoporous silica film, which was packed in between Cu and silicon contacts. The nanogenerator runs autonomously when a water droplet is laid over the film close to the Cu electrode, as water infiltration into the film under the electrode produces a direct-current. Wetting?drying cycles, which are spontaneously triggered by water evaporation, are perfectly correlated to the generated electrical current. The autonomous water displacement through the film yields a sustained energy conversion until the droplet reservoir vanishes. This novel water-driven nanogenerator opens new alternatives for versatile, mobile and cost-effective self-powering of nanosystems and nanodevices.