Rain energy harvesting using atomically thin Gadolinium Telluride decorated 3D Printed nanogenerator

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel 3D printed nanogenerator utilizing atomically thin Gadolinium Telluride for rain energy harvesting, achieving significant voltage output through liquid-solid contact electrification and surface area enhancement.

Contribution

It introduces a new 3D printed nanogenerator with Gd2Te3 sheets for rain energy harvesting, combining experimental and theoretical analysis to improve efficiency and output voltage.

Findings

Voltage up to ~0.6 V generated by ionic droplet movement.

Surface area enhancement increases efficiency by ~400%.

High electrical conductivity linked to (112) surface of Gd2Te3.

Abstract

The 3D printing technology offers an innovative approach for developing energy storage devices to create facile and low-cost customized electrodes for modern electronics. Generating electric potential by moving a droplet of ionic solution over two-dimensional (2D) materials is a novel method for rain energy harvesting. This work demonstrated a liquid-solid contact electrification-based 3D printed nanogenerator where raindrop passes through the positively charged ultrathin Gadolinium Telluride (Gd2Te3) sheets. Experimental results showed that voltage as high as ~0.6 V could be generated by moving a droplet of ionic solution on the decorated 3D printed nanogenerator. The output efficiency of the nanogenerator is increased ~400% by enhancing the surface area of copious 3D printed porous structures. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations are done, revealing that the high electrical conductivity of (112) surface of Gd2Te3 is due to the p-type charge carriers. Additionally, we illustrate the enhancement of the output performance (~0.8V) by using a graphite rod and arbitrarily manipulating the surface charge. Therefore, this work can open up a new avenue to advance scientific research of Blue energy harvesting and tackle the energy crisis.