Polarized Water Enabled Vertical Dynamic Diode Generator to Output Direct Current

Abstract

Harvesting various mechanical energy from the daily environment has been proposed as a promising way to power electronic devices in the era of Internet of Things. However, most of existing generators are troubled by complex surface structures to achieve higher power output because of the limitations by interfacial effects and unable to achieve direct current (DC) output in the vertical direction. Herein, by introducing the polarized water molecules at the solid contact interface, a vertical structure dynamic diode DC generator is proposed. In the process of polarization and depolarization, water molecules induce, accumulate and rebound charges at the interfaces, and form a voltage output up to 1.7 V based on a solid‐liquid‐solid structure. Furthermore, through integrating series of water molecular generators, a voltage of 4.5 V can be achieved and effectively power commercial LED. This generator has been proven to harvest mechanical energy in the vertical direction to output DC power and excellent potential for applications in distributed energy supply.