Water evaporation-induced electricity based on carbon materials: A review

The emergence of water evaporation-induced electricity (WEIE) opens up new paths for solving fossil energy problems and environmental crises. Generating electricity through the interaction between liquid and solid media is an attractive renewable energy strategy. The excellent electrical conductivity, processability, abundance and cost-effectiveness of carbon materials have led to great interest in the field of water-induced power generation. In this review, we summarize the state of research on carbon materials in the field of WEIE and recent advances in this novel power generation technology, including the underlying phenomena, potential mechanisms and applications of carbon materials. These simple power-harvesting devices, in which only electrons, water molecules and ions are involved in energy conversion, are essential for a complete understanding of energy conversion mechanisms and for the design of future novel devices.