Chemical‐to‐Electricity Carbon: Water Device. Issue 18 (26th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: He, Sisi; Zhang, Yueyu; Qiu, Longbin; Zhang, Longsheng; Xie, Yun; Pan, Jian; Chen, Peining; Wang, Bingjie; Xu, Xiaojie; Hu, Yajie; Dinh, Cao Thang; De Luna, Phil; Banis, Mohammad Norouzi; Wang, Zhiqiang; Sham, Tsun‐Kong; Gong, Xingao; Zhang, Bo; Peng, Huisheng; Sargent, Edward H.
• Is Part Of: Advanced materials. Volume 30:Issue 18(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2018-03-26
• Subjects: carbon nanotubes -- chemical -- electricity -- energy -- water; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201707635
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0935-9648

Abstract

Abstract: The ability to release, as electrical energy, potential energy stored at the water:carbon interface is attractive, since water is abundant and available. However, many previous reports of such energy converters rely on either flowing water or specially designed ionic aqueous solutions. These requirements restrict practical application, particularly in environments with quiescent water. Here, a carbon‐based chemical‐to‐electricity device that transfers the chemical energy to electrical form when coming into contact with quiescent deionized water is reported. The device is built using carbon nanotube yarns, oxygen content of which is modulated using oxygen plasma‐treatment. When immersed in water, the device discharges electricity with a power density that exceeds 700 mW m −2, one order of magnitude higher than the best previously published result. X‐ray absorption and density functional theory studies support a mechanism of operation that relies on the polarization of sp 2 hybridized carbon atoms. The devices are incorporated into a flexible fabric for powering personal electronic devices. Abstract : A chemical‐to‐electricity device is discovered to produce electrical current from quiescent, deionized water. The device is built from carbon nanotube yarns with modulated oxygen contents and the device exhibits a power density that exceeds 700 mW m −2 . These devices can be made into a flexible fabric for powering personal electronic devices.