Electrical current nanogeneration driven by spontaneous nanofluidic oscillations

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

Nanoscale

Royal Society of Chemistry

Año: 2018

2040-3364

Exploiting natural phenomena is a central route for providingelectricity to sustainably drive wearable electronics. Here wereport a nano-scale water-driven energy generator that producestiny electrical currents from spontaneous wetting-dryingoscillations in mesoporous thin films. The system was fabricatedwith a wormlike mesoporous silica film, which was packed inbetween Cu and silicon contacts. The nanogenerator runsautonomously when a water droplet is laid over the film close tothe Cu electrode, as water infiltration into the film under theelectrode produces a direct-current. Wetting-drying cycles, whichare spontaneously triggered by water evaporation, are perfectlycorrelated to the generated electrical current. The autonomouswater displacement through the film yields a sustained energyconversion until the droplet reservoir vanishes. This novel waterdrivennanogenerator opens new alternatives for versatile, mobileand cost-effective self-powering of nanosystems and nanodevices.