Continuous Energy Harvesting from UBIQUITOUS Humidity Gradient Using liquid-infused Nanofluidics.

Humidity-based power generation that converts internal energy of water molecules into electricity is an emerging approach for harvesting clean energy from nature. Here we propose that intrinsic gradient within humidity field near sweating surfaces, such as river, soil or animal skins, is a promising power resource when integrated with liquid-infused nanofluidics. Specifically, we expose capillary-stabilized ionic liquid (IL, Omim+ Cl- ) film to above humidity field to create a sustained transmembrane water content difference, which enables asymmetric ion-diffusion across the nanoconfined fluidics, facilitating long-term electricity generation with the power density of ∼12.11 μW/cm2 . We attribute this high record to the nanoconfined IL that integrates van der Waals and electrostatic interactions to block movement of Omim+ clusters while allow for directional diffusion of moisture-liberated Cl- . This humidity gradient triggered large ion-diffusion flux for power generation indicates great potential of sweating surfaces considering that most of the earth is covered by water or soil. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.