Xing Renquan, Liu Ying, Yan Jing, Wang Run, Zhuang Xupin, Yang Guang
State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China.
State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes/National Center for International Joint Research on Separation Membranes, School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Oct;671:205-215. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.05.147. Epub 2024 May 23.
Moist-electric generators (MEGs), which are capable of spontaneously generating energy from ubiquitous moisture, are considered as a potential power supply candidate for wearable electronics. However, the application of the MEGs in the wearable field is still challenging due to the low electric output and the lack of wearable attributes such as breathability and flame retardancy. Herein, we demonstrated a wearable MEG with high power-output, breathability and flame retardancy, which was fabricated by designing an asymmetrical nanofiber assembly using hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol/phytic acid (PVA/PA) and hydrophobic polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) nanofiber membranes. Owing to the synergistic effects of strong water absorption, enhanced ion release and numerous micro-nano transport channels, a single MEG of 1 cm could constantly generate high direct-current (DC) power, i.e., a voltage of 1.0 V, a current of 15.5 μA, and a power density of 3.0 μW cm, outperforming other reported nanofiber-based MEGs. More importantly, the asymmetric nanofiber structure ensured the moisture circulation inside MEG and thus produced a sustained voltage output for 7 days without any deterioration. The MEG also showed good flexibility, air/moisture permeability and flame retardancy, which give it necessary wearable attributes. Furthermore, large-scale integration of MEG units could be readily realized to fabricate a power source device for driving different portable electronics, while the moisture sensitivity made the MEG well used for sensing applications (e.g., respiration monitoring, fire warning).
湿电发电机（MEGs）能够从无处不在的湿气中自发产生能量，被认为是可穿戴电子产品潜在的电源候选者。然而，由于其低电输出以及缺乏诸如透气性和阻燃性等可穿戴属性，MEGs在可穿戴领域的应用仍然具有挑战性。在此，我们展示了一种具有高功率输出、透气性和阻燃性的可穿戴MEG，它是通过使用亲水性聚乙烯醇/植酸（PVA/PA）和疏水性聚偏二氟乙烯（PVDF）纳米纤维膜设计不对称纳米纤维组件制成的。由于强吸水性、增强的离子释放和众多微纳传输通道的协同作用，一个1厘米的单个MEG能够持续产生高直流电（DC）功率，即1.0 V的电压、15.5 μA的电流和3.0 μW/cm的功率密度，优于其他已报道的基于纳米纤维的MEGs。更重要的是，不对称纳米纤维结构确保了MEG内部的湿气循环，从而产生了持续7天的电压输出且没有任何性能下降。该MEG还表现出良好的柔韧性、空气/湿气渗透性和阻燃性，赋予了它必要的可穿戴属性。此外，可以很容易地实现MEG单元的大规模集成，以制造用于驱动不同便携式电子产品的电源装置，而湿气敏感性使MEG很好地用于传感应用（例如，呼吸监测、火灾预警）。
