Continuous-energy harvesting from soils based on reversible hydrolysis process for self-power memristor system

Abstract

Harvesting energy from the nature such as ocean, wind, solar and so on offers one of most promising clean power for self-sustained system. There has significantly been demonstrated on the variety of applications from nano/micro-electronic device to TW energy supply through special material engineering and elaborate structure design. Here we show that a simple device made from pristine soils without any chemical processing can generate continuous electricity power. The devices can generate a sustained voltage of around 0.5 volts with a power density around 0.35μW/cm after the soils immersing in water. Connecting several devices in series or parallel can linearly scale up the voltage and current to power electronics such as memristor and liquid crystal display. Gradient distribution of water and ions originated from self-maintained hydrolyzation in soils yields streaming potential and ionic current. Our results demonstrate a novel continuous energy-harvesting approach that is less restriction in material, structure, or environment conditions than other sustainable technologies.