A Multifunctional Asymmetric Fabric for Sustained Electricity Generation from Multiple Sources and Simultaneous Solar Steam Generation
Shuangjie Sun, Hui Li, Miaomiao Zhang, Binbin Sun, Yibing Xie, Wei Zhou, Peipei Yang, Hao‐Yang Mi, Zhanhu Guo, Chuntai Liu, Changyu Shen
Abstract
Abstract Harvesting electrical energy from water and moisture has emerged as a novel ecofriendly energy conversion technology. Herein, a multifunctional asymmetric polyaniline/carbon nanotubes/poly(vinyl alcohol) (APCP) that can produce electric energy from both saline water and moisture and generate fresh water simultaneously is developed. The constructed APCP possesses a negatively charged porous structure that allows continuous generation of protons and ion diffusion through the material, and a hydrophilicity–hydrophobic interface which results in a constant potential difference and sustainable output. A single APCP can maintain stable output for over 130 h and preserve a high voltage of 0.61 V, current of 81 µA, and power density of 82.4 µW cm −3 with 0.15 cm 3 unit size in the water‐induced electricity generation process. When harvesting moisture energy, the APCP creates dry‐wet asymmetries and triggers the spontaneous development of electrical double layer with a current density of 1.25 mA cm −3 , sufficient to power small electronics. A device consisting of four APCP can generate stable electricity of 3.35 V and produce clean water with an evaporation rate of 2.06 kg m −2 h −1 simultaneously. This work provides insights into the fabrication of multifunctional fabrics for multisource energy harvesting and simultaneous solar steam generation.