Water Electrolysis and Energy Harvesting with 0D Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method using 0D ion-sensitive FETs to electrically detect and analyze individual bubbles during water electrolysis, aiming to optimize energy harvesting efficiency.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the use of buried 0D ISFETs for electrical detection of bubble emission and models bubble size from electrolytic current, proposing a new energy harvesting approach.

Findings

0D ISFETs can detect individual bubble emissions electrically.

A simple model relates electrolytic current to bubble size.

Potential for energy harvesting from electrolysis using ISFETs.

Abstract

The relationship of the gas bubble size to the size distribution critically influences the effectiveness of electrochemical processes. Several optical and acoustical techniques have been used to characterize the size and emission frequency of bubbles. Here, we used zero-dimensional (0D) ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) buried under a microbath to detect the emission of individual bubbles electrically and to generate statistics on the bubble emission time. The bubble size was evaluated via a simple model of the electrolytic current. We suggest that energy lost during water electrolysis could be used to generate electric pulses at an optimal efficiency with an array of 0D ISFETs.