# Recent Advances in Moisture‐Electric Nanogenerators: From Moisture‐Enabled Electrification to Practical Applications

## TL;DR

This review discusses moisture-electric nanogenerators (MEGs), a new way to harvest clean energy from atmospheric moisture for self-powered devices.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent innovations in MEG materials and their practical applications.

## Key findings

- MEGs use hygroscopic materials to convert moisture into electricity without regional energy input restrictions.
- Recent advances in moisture-responsive materials have improved the electrical output of MEGs.
- MEGs have potential applications in self-powered sensors and low-power devices like humidity and respiration monitors.

## Abstract

The global energy shortage continues to raise energy prices and cause an imbalance between supply and demand of oil, gas and electricity. This ongoing worldwide energy crisis highlights the urgent need for exploiting more renewable and clean energy from natural resources while simultaneously minimizing the carbon footprint. Moisture‐electric nanogenerators (MEGs) have emerged as a novel method for energy harvesting, utilizing the ubiquity, sustainability, and portability of atmospheric moisture, and overcoming regional restrictions for thermal, solar, or mechanical energy inputs. By exchanging intermolecular bonding energy when ionizing moisture into electrical output through deliberately fabricated hygroscopic materials, MEGs can have diverse applications, including self‐powered sensors and low‐power sources used for humidity sensing, respiration monitoring, etc. This review covers the construction, materials, and mechanisms of the MEGs, the recent progress in cutting‐edge innovations in moisture‐responsive materials for boosting electrical outputs, followed by discussions of practical MEG applications. The outlook for further development of MEGs is also provided, along with the predicted increase in use cases of this promising clean energy‐harvesting approach.

This review covers the construction, materials, and mechanisms of the moisture‐electric nanogenerators (MEGs), the recent progress in cutting‐edge innovations in moisture‐responsive materials for boosting electrical outputs, followed by discussions of practical MEG applications. The outlook for further development of MEGs is also provided, along with the predicted increase in use cases of this promising clean energy‐harvesting approach.