POWER SUPPLIES & BATTERIES
Sliding water droplets activate thin flexible energy harvester
By RJulien Happich esearchers from Nagoya University and Kyushu University
have devised a thin-film micro-energy harvester
that leverages moving water
micro-droplets to generate over 5V of
output voltage. The device described in
the Nano Energy journal under the title
“High output voltage generation of over
5V from liquid motion on single-layer
MoS2” is made of molybdenum disulfide
(MoS2) flexible thin films, it generates
electricity when drops of salted water
slide down on its upper surface.
Previously, it has been shown that a
graphene sheet could generate electricity
from the liquid movement across its
surface, but output voltage was limited
to about 0.1V, making it impractical for energy harvesting.
To make use of MoS2 for the generator, the researchers had
to figure out a way to fabricate a large-area single-layer MoS2
film on a plastic film, something unachievable with conventional
methods.
“In our study, we succeeded in fabricating this form of MoS2
film by means of chemical vapor deposition using a sapphire
substrate with molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and sulphur powders.
We also used a polystyrene film as a bearing material for
the MoS2 film, so that we were able
to transfer the synthesized MoS2 film
to the surface of the plastic film quite
easily”, explained Professor Ohno of
the Institute of Materials and Systems
for Sustainability at Nagoya University.
The newly developed generator is
flexible enough to be installed on the
curved inner surface of plumbing, and
is thus expected to be used to power
IoT devices used in liquids, such as
self-powered rain gauges and acid
rain monitors, as well as water quality
sensors that can generate power from
A droplet moving on MoS2 generates the voltage
as high as 5 V Credit: Adha Sukma Aji
industrial wastewater while monitoring it.
“Our MoS2 nanogenerator is able to harvest energy from
multiple forms of liquid motion, including droplets, spraying,
and sea waves. From a broader perspective, this device could
also be used in applications involving hydrodynamics, such
as generating electricity from rainwater and waterfalls”, added
Professor Ohno.
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