Portable Integrated Composite Aerogels for High-Power Electricity Generation and Efficient Seawater Desalination

Hydrovoltaic generators (HVGs) harness energy from ubiquitous water to generate electricity, offering a promising strategy for a next-generation energy conversion system. However, the integration of power generation and seawater desalination remains challenging. This work demonstrates an integrated-aerogel-based hydrovoltaic generator (IA-HVG) constructed by a sponge-like architecture and asymmetric copper-aluminum electrodes, enabling both evaporation-driven electricity generation and seawater desalination. The porous structure combined with an asymmetric electrode design promotes water transport and interfacial interaction, enhancing ion generation and directional migration. Notably, the IA-HVG device achieves a seawater evaporation rate of 1.76 kg m^-2 h^-1 under 1 sun and exhibits a remarkable power density of 657.80 μW cm^-2, representing an order-of-magnitude improvement over conventional HVGs. Furthermore, its output can be readily scaled up in different configurations. This work offers a simple and efficient approach for evaporation-driven water-electricity cogeneration systems.