Droplet-Based Direct-Current Electricity Generation Induced by Dynamic Electric Double Layers

Harvesting energy from water droplets has received tremendous attention due to the pursuit of sustainable and green energy resources. The droplet-based electricity generator (DEG) provides an admirable strategy to harvest energy from droplets into electricity. However, most of the DEGs merely generate electricity of alternating current (AC) output rather than direct current (DC) without the utilization of rectifiers, impeding its practical applications in energy storage and power supply. Here, a direct current droplet-based electricity generator (DC-DEG) is developed by the simple configuration of the electrodes. The DC output originates from the dynamical electric double layer (EDL) formed at two electrodes and droplet interfaces where the charging/discharging process of EDL capacitance occurs. Several experiments are exhibited to demonstrate the rationality of the proposed principle. The influence of some factors on the output is investigated for further insight into the DC-DEG device. This work provides a novel strategy to harvest energy from water droplets directly into DC electricity and may expand the application of DEGs in powering electronic devices without the help of rectifiers.