Fully Biodegradable Water Droplet Energy Harvester Based on Leaves of Living Plants

Hao Wu; Zefeng Chen; Guoqiang Xu; Jianbin Xu; Zuankai Wang; Yunlong Zi

doi:10.1021/acsami.0c17601

Fully Biodegradable Water Droplet Energy Harvester Based on Leaves of Living Plants

Hao Wu
, Zefeng Chen
, Guoqiang Xu
, Jianbin Xu
, Zuankai Wang
, Yunlong Zi

Research output: Journal article publication › Journal article › Academic research › peer-review

117 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have obtained soaring interest due to their capability for environmental energy harvesting. However, as a harvester for green energy, the frequent adoption of the hardly degradable plastic films is not desirable. Here, we report a fully biodegradable TENG (FBD-TENG) that all elements are made from natural substances, and the utilization of plastic materials is avoided. The leaf cuticle and the inside conductive tissue are utilized as the tribo-material and electrode for one part in the FBD-TENG, and water droplets are employed as the counterpart. By using water droplets to bridge the originally disconnected components into a closed-loop electrical system, we successfully collect energy from the droplet impact onto a plant leaf. The electricity generation phenomenon and the working mechanism of the FBD-TENG have been investigated. Five kinds of plants, as well as rain water droplets, are employed to demonstrate the wide availability of the proposed approach. This study provides a strategy to utilize the pervasively presented electrostatic charges in nature in an eco-friendly way.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	56060-56067
Number of pages	8
Journal	ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume	12
Issue number	50
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c17601
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2020
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator
electronic plants
plant leaves
triboelectric nanogenerator
water droplet energy harvester

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Materials Science

More information

10.1021/acsami.0c17601

Cite this

@article{749b9392847346de83ec3e06b692256f,

title = "Fully Biodegradable Water Droplet Energy Harvester Based on Leaves of Living Plants",

abstract = "Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have obtained soaring interest due to their capability for environmental energy harvesting. However, as a harvester for green energy, the frequent adoption of the hardly degradable plastic films is not desirable. Here, we report a fully biodegradable TENG (FBD-TENG) that all elements are made from natural substances, and the utilization of plastic materials is avoided. The leaf cuticle and the inside conductive tissue are utilized as the tribo-material and electrode for one part in the FBD-TENG, and water droplets are employed as the counterpart. By using water droplets to bridge the originally disconnected components into a closed-loop electrical system, we successfully collect energy from the droplet impact onto a plant leaf. The electricity generation phenomenon and the working mechanism of the FBD-TENG have been investigated. Five kinds of plants, as well as rain water droplets, are employed to demonstrate the wide availability of the proposed approach. This study provides a strategy to utilize the pervasively presented electrostatic charges in nature in an eco-friendly way.",

keywords = "biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator, electronic plants, plant leaves, triboelectric nanogenerator, water droplet energy harvester",

author = "Hao Wu and Zefeng Chen and Guoqiang Xu and Jianbin Xu and Zuankai Wang and Yunlong Zi",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the HKSAR The Research Grants Council Early Career Scheme (grant no. 24206919), the HKSAR Innovation and Technology Support Programme Tier 3 (grant no. ITS/085/18), The Chinese University of Hong Kong Direct Grant (grant no. 4055086), and the Research Grants Council Grant (no. 11213320). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 American Chemical Society.",

year = "2020",

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day = "16",

doi = "10.1021/acsami.0c17601",

language = "English",

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pages = "56060--56067",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Fully Biodegradable Water Droplet Energy Harvester Based on Leaves of Living Plants

AU - Wu, Hao

AU - Chen, Zefeng

AU - Xu, Guoqiang

AU - Xu, Jianbin

AU - Wang, Zuankai

AU - Zi, Yunlong

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the HKSAR The Research Grants Council Early Career Scheme (grant no. 24206919), the HKSAR Innovation and Technology Support Programme Tier 3 (grant no. ITS/085/18), The Chinese University of Hong Kong Direct Grant (grant no. 4055086), and the Research Grants Council Grant (no. 11213320). Publisher Copyright: © 2020 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2020/12/16

Y1 - 2020/12/16

N2 - Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have obtained soaring interest due to their capability for environmental energy harvesting. However, as a harvester for green energy, the frequent adoption of the hardly degradable plastic films is not desirable. Here, we report a fully biodegradable TENG (FBD-TENG) that all elements are made from natural substances, and the utilization of plastic materials is avoided. The leaf cuticle and the inside conductive tissue are utilized as the tribo-material and electrode for one part in the FBD-TENG, and water droplets are employed as the counterpart. By using water droplets to bridge the originally disconnected components into a closed-loop electrical system, we successfully collect energy from the droplet impact onto a plant leaf. The electricity generation phenomenon and the working mechanism of the FBD-TENG have been investigated. Five kinds of plants, as well as rain water droplets, are employed to demonstrate the wide availability of the proposed approach. This study provides a strategy to utilize the pervasively presented electrostatic charges in nature in an eco-friendly way.

AB - Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have obtained soaring interest due to their capability for environmental energy harvesting. However, as a harvester for green energy, the frequent adoption of the hardly degradable plastic films is not desirable. Here, we report a fully biodegradable TENG (FBD-TENG) that all elements are made from natural substances, and the utilization of plastic materials is avoided. The leaf cuticle and the inside conductive tissue are utilized as the tribo-material and electrode for one part in the FBD-TENG, and water droplets are employed as the counterpart. By using water droplets to bridge the originally disconnected components into a closed-loop electrical system, we successfully collect energy from the droplet impact onto a plant leaf. The electricity generation phenomenon and the working mechanism of the FBD-TENG have been investigated. Five kinds of plants, as well as rain water droplets, are employed to demonstrate the wide availability of the proposed approach. This study provides a strategy to utilize the pervasively presented electrostatic charges in nature in an eco-friendly way.

KW - biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator

KW - electronic plants

KW - plant leaves

KW - triboelectric nanogenerator

KW - water droplet energy harvester

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U2 - 10.1021/acsami.0c17601

DO - 10.1021/acsami.0c17601

M3 - Journal article

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AN - SCOPUS:85097791059

SN - 1944-8244

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ER -

Fully Biodegradable Water Droplet Energy Harvester Based on Leaves of Living Plants

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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