Transforming Moist-Electric Generators with Functional Group-Enriched Biological Innovations

Moist-electric generators are promising sustainable energy technologies that convert environmental moisture into electrical energy through interactions between water molecules and specially engineered functional materials. The efficiency of these devices often relies on materials with non-uniform structural properties to facilitate charge separation. Here, we present an innovative biological approach to constructing such a structure enriched with functional groups on a paper-based platform. Biosynthesized TiO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> nanoparticles on Bacillus spores supply abundant functional groups, while the spore-based aggregates naturally form via the paper's capillary action, resulting in a robust structure with directional characteristics. This design significantly enhances moisture adsorption and ion migration, achieving a stable and substantial power density of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$2 \mu \mathrm{W}/\text{cm}^{2}$</tex> for over 48 hours.