Bubble energy generator

Xiantong Yan, Wanghuai Xu, Yajun Deng, Chao Zhang, Huanxi Zheng, Siyan Yang, Yuxin Song, Pengyu Li, Xiaote Xu, Yue Hu, Luwen Zhang, Zhengbao Yang, Steven Wang, Zuankai Wang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Bubbles have been extensively explored as energy carriers ranging from boiling heat transfer and targeted cancer diagnosis. Yet, despite notable progress, the kinetic energy inherent in small bubbles remains difficult to harvest. Here, we develop a transistor-inspired bubble energy generator for directly and efficiently harvesting energy from small bubbles. The key points lie in designing dielectric surface with high-density electric charges and tailored surface wettability as well as transistor-inspired electrode configuration. The synergy between these features facilitates fast bubble spreading and subsequent departure, transforms the initial liquid/solid interface into gas/solid interface under the gating of bubble, and yields an output at least one order of magnitude higher than existing studies. We also show that the output can be further enhanced through rapid bubble collapse at the air/ liquid interface and multiple bubbles synchronization. We envision that our design will pave the way for small bubble-based energy harvesting in liquid media.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereabo7698
JournalScience advances
Volume8
Issue number25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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