Science Daily May 24, 2023
Previously described technologies for harvesting energy from air humidity are either not continuous or require unique material synthesis or processing, which has stymied scalability and broad deployment. Researchers at UMass developed a generic effect for continuous energy harvesting from air humidity which could be applied to a broad range of inorganic, organic, and biological materials. The materials were engineered with appropriate nanopores to allow air water to pass through and undergo dynamic adsorption–desorption exchange at the porous interface, resulting in surface charging. The top exposed interface experienced the dynamic interaction more than the bottom sealed interface in a thin-film device structure, yielding a spontaneous and sustained charging gradient for continuous electric output. Analyses of material properties and electric outputs led to a “leaky capacitor” model that could describe how electricity is harvested and predict current behaviors consistent with experiments. According to the researchers predictions from the model could guide the fabrication of devices made from heterogeneous junctions of different materials to further expand the device category. The work opens a wide door for the broad exploration of sustainable electricity from air…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Nanopores are the secret to making electricity from thin air… Credit: Credit: Derek Lovley/Ella Maru Studio