Self-powered monoelectrodes made from graphene composite films to harvest rain energy. (1st September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhao, Yuanyuan; Pang, Zhibin; Duan, Jialong; Duan, Yanyan; Jiao, Zhengbo; Tang, Qunwei
• Is Part Of: Energy. Volume 158(2018)
• Page Start: 555
• Page End: 563
• Publication Date: 2018-09-01
• Subjects: Self-powered monoelectrodes -- Energy conversion devices -- Rain energy harvest -- Graphene composites; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.05.138
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-5442

Abstract

Abstract: Development of self-powered monoelectrodes for clean energy harvest is a promising solution to meet the growing energy demands for modern electronic device applications. To address this issue, a category of self-powered monoelectrodes are made from cost-effective graphene composite films to harvest rain energy. Periodic current and voltage signals are recorded under rain stimulation to evaluate their rain-to-electricity efficiency. The mechanism behind rain energy harvest arises from charging/discharging cycles of electric π-electron (graphene)|cation (rain) double-layer pseudocapacitances at graphene film/raindrop interface. The maximized current of 2.15 μA/raindrop, voltage of 129.83 μV/raindrop and power of 295.48 pW/raindrop are yielded in the optimized conversion devices. The present work may provide new insights on harvesting waste energies in rain-enriched regions by designing electron-enriched monoelectrodes. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Electron-enriched graphene composite films are made by a simple casting technique. Graphene composite films are applied in self-powered monoelectrodes to harvest rain energy. Periodic current, voltage and power signals are recorded under the stimulus of rainwater. Charging/discharging processes of EDL pseudocapacitances contributes to power generation.