Self-induced interface enhanced moisture-harvesting and light-trapping toward high performance electric power generation

Abstract

Ubiquitous moisture and sunlight are widely available in nature and provide abundant, clean sources for developing new types of sustainable power. Inspired by liquid migration and light-trapping functions from the delicate surface of natural ecosystems, we develop a self-induced imprinting strategy to in situ establish the interface microgroove architecture, which efficiently synergizes water coalescence, migration, and light harvesting, resulting in 227% enhancement of moisture adsorption and 100% boosting of light collection compared to the flat counterpart. Accordingly, an interface-enhanced electric generator (IEG) is developed to offer an open circuit voltage of 0.8 V, and a considerable short-circuit current density of up to 1.6 mA cm⁻². This IEG is able to sustainably work in most outdoor conditions serving as a wearable power system. This work opens a new avenue to break through the input limit of environmental energy, approaching high performance power generation.