A High‐Performance Integrated Solar‐Driven Evaporator‐Triboelectric Nanogenerator Hybrid System for Simultaneous Water and Electricity Harvesting

Abstract The integration of solar‐driven interfacial evaporation and energy harvesting technologies offers a transformative approach for simultaneously generating freshwater and electricity. However, existing systems remain limited by incomplete utilization of the energy available during desalination processes and by the instability of droplet‐based electricity generation, which typically depends on uncontrollable environmental sources such as rainfall or fog. Herein, a high‐performance all‐in‐one hybrid platform is reported by coupling a bioenzyme‐treated wood aerogel solar evaporator with a fiber‐based triboelectric nanogenerator to stably harvest both solar thermal and condensate droplet kinetic energies. This system achieves a record‐high evaporation rate of 12.88 kg m‐ 2 h −1 , delivering 11.96 kg m − 2 day −1 of freshwater under 1 sun illumination. The nanogenerator delivers an open‐circuit voltage of 19.99 V and a short‐circuit current of 997.94 nA. These are far exceeding the performance of state‐of‐the‐art hybrid devices utilizing hydroelectricity, thermoelectricity, salinity gradient energy, or triboelectricity mechanisms. This work demonstrates a scalable, sustainable, and self‐powered solution for decentralized cogeneration of water and electricity, paving the way for next‐generation off‐grid resource platforms.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2025-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202522614
Primary Topic
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
Type
article
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article

A High‐Performance Integrated Solar‐Driven Evaporator‐Triboelectric Nanogenerator Hybrid System for Simultaneous Water and Electricity Harvesting

Ruiyuan Liu, Yong‐Fei Zheng, Wei Zhu, Huiru Zhao et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
article

A High‐Performance Integrated Solar‐Driven Evaporator‐Triboelectric Nanogenerator Hybrid System for Simultaneous Water and Electricity Harvesting

Ruiyuan Liu, Yong‐Fei Zheng, Wei Zhu, Huiru Zhao, Haoxuan Li, Nan Sun, Xiao Shen, Qinyi Ren
article en

Abstract

Abstract The integration of solar‐driven interfacial evaporation and energy harvesting technologies offers a transformative approach for simultaneously generating freshwater and electricity. However, existing systems remain limited by incomplete utilization of the energy available during desalination processes and by the instability of droplet‐based electricity generation, which typically depends on uncontrollable environmental sources such as rainfall or fog. Herein, a high‐performance all‐in‐one hybrid platform is reported by coupling a bioenzyme‐treated wood aerogel solar evaporator with a fiber‐based triboelectric nanogenerator to stably harvest both solar thermal and condensate droplet kinetic energies. This system achieves a record‐high evaporation rate of 12.88 kg m‐ 2 h −1 , delivering 11.96 kg m − 2 day −1 of freshwater under 1 sun illumination. The nanogenerator delivers an open‐circuit voltage of 19.99 V and a short‐circuit current of 997.94 nA. These are far exceeding the performance of state‐of‐the‐art hybrid devices utilizing hydroelectricity, thermoelectricity, salinity gradient energy, or triboelectricity mechanisms. This work demonstrates a scalable, sustainable, and self‐powered solution for decentralized cogeneration of water and electricity, paving the way for next‐generation off‐grid resource platforms.

Advanced Functional MaterialsVol. 36(21)
Zhejiang International Studies University (CN), Jiangnan University (CN), Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (CN), Donghua University (CN), Soochow University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 79%
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
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