Guo Xinge, Wang Luwei, Jin Zhenyang, Lee Chengkuo
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore, 117576, Singapore.
Center for Intelligent Sensors and MEMS (CISM), National University of Singapore, 5 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117608, Singapore.
Nanomicro Lett. 2024 Nov 27;17(1):76. doi: 10.1007/s40820-024-01587-y.
Smart farming with outdoor monitoring systems is critical to address food shortages and sustainability challenges. These systems facilitate informed decisions that enhance efficiency in broader environmental management. Existing outdoor systems equipped with energy harvesters and self-powered sensors often struggle with fluctuating energy sources, low durability under harsh conditions, non-transparent or non-biocompatible materials, and complex structures. Herein, a multifunctional hydrogel is developed, which can fulfill all the above requirements and build self-sustainable outdoor monitoring systems solely by it. It can serve as a stable energy harvester that continuously generates direct current output with an average power density of 1.9 W m for nearly 60 days of operation in normal environments (24 °C, 60% RH), with an energy density of around 1.36 × 10 J m. It also shows good self-recoverability in severe environments (45 °C, 30% RH) in nearly 40 days of continuous operation. Moreover, this hydrogel enables noninvasive and self-powered monitoring of leaf relative water content, providing critical data on evaluating plant health, previously obtainable only through invasive or high-power consumption methods. Its potential extends to acting as other self-powered environmental sensors. This multifunctional hydrogel enables self-sustainable outdoor systems with scalable and low-cost production, paving the way for future agriculture.
利用户外监测系统进行智能农业对于解决粮食短缺和可持续发展挑战至关重要。这些系统有助于做出明智的决策，从而提高更广泛环境管理中的效率。现有的配备能量收集器和自供电传感器的户外系统往往面临能源波动、在恶劣条件下耐久性低、材料不透明或无生物相容性以及结构复杂等问题。在此，开发了一种多功能水凝胶，它可以满足上述所有要求，并仅通过它构建自我可持续的户外监测系统。它可以作为一个稳定的能量收集器，在正常环境（24°C，60%相对湿度）下连续运行近60天，平均功率密度为1.9 W m，持续产生直流输出，能量密度约为1.36×10 J m。在恶劣环境（45°C，30%相对湿度）下连续运行近40天，它也表现出良好的自我恢复能力。此外，这种水凝胶能够对叶片相对含水量进行无创和自供电监测，提供有关评估植物健康的关键数据，而这些数据以前只能通过侵入性或高功耗方法获得。它的潜力还扩展到作为其他自供电环境传感器。这种多功能水凝胶使自我可持续的户外系统具有可扩展和低成本的生产方式，为未来农业铺平了道路。
