Nanofluidic Membrane with Spent Battery Residues for Efficient Energy Generation

Harvesting energy in the ambient environment has become a dominant energy source and is promising toward a sustainable perspective. However, developing an energy generator with readily available raw materials and continuous output performance remains a challenge. Herein, we have demonstrated that a nanofluidic membrane with an asymmetric structure device (ASD) design by using available raw materials spent battery residues can achieve continuous power generation. The ASD can generate a voltage of ∼0.5 V by dropping 0.1 mL of water. Detailed experimental results reveal that ions in water play a synergistic role in enhancing output performance. By dropping 0.1 mL of seawater, the power output of ∼46.67 mW m^-2 can be readily derived with voltage of ∼0.7 V. The work opens a viable way to generate electric power by environmental energy with facile structure design and easy-to-access materials. The output energy will greatly promote practical applications such as the power supply of low-power devices.