Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0411, CA, USA.
Program in Materials Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0411, CA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2018 Oct 3;9(1):4050. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06297-9.
The generation of electrical voltage through the flow of an electrolyte over a charged surface may be used for energy transduction. Here, we show that enhanced electrical potential differences (i.e., streaming potential) may be obtained through the flow of salt water on liquid-filled surfaces that are infiltrated with a lower dielectric constant liquid, such as oil, to harness electrolyte slip and associated surface charge. A record-high figure of merit, in terms of the voltage generated per unit applied pressure, of 0.043 mV Pa is obtained through the use of the liquid-filled surfaces. In comparison with air-filled surfaces, the figure of merit associated with the liquid-filled surface increases by a factor of 1.4. These results lay the basis for innovative surface charge engineering methodology for the study of electrokinetic phenomena at the microscale, with possible application in new electrical power sources.
通过在带电表面上流动电解质来产生电压的方法可用于能量转换。在这里，我们表明，通过在充满液体的表面上流动盐水，同时使介电常数较低的液体（例如油）渗透到其中，可以获得增强的电势差（即流动电势），从而利用电解质滑移和相关的表面电荷。通过使用充满液体的表面，获得了单位外加压力产生的电压的创纪录的高品质因数，为 0.043 mV Pa。与充满空气的表面相比，充满液体的表面的品质因数增加了 1.4 倍。这些结果为研究微尺度电动现象的创新表面电荷工程方法奠定了基础，并且可能在新的电力源中有应用。
