Synergistic generation of freshwater and electricity
using solar
light would be an ideal solution for global freshwater challenges
and energy demands. Recently, interface solar steam generation has
been considered one of the promising cost-effective alternatives for
freshwater generation. Here, we have systematically maintained the
salinity gradient within two-legged paper-based microfluidic channels
to transport wastewater from the reservoir to the evaporator surface
and generate electricity all-day-long. Flowing seawater (3.5 wt %
NaCl) on one leg and tap water on the other of the water-conducting
channels connected to a conical evaporator, we achieved an average
open-circuit voltage (V
OC) of 150 mV and
a short-circuit current of 6.5 μA across each channel along
with a water evaporation efficiency of 88%. As the V
OC depends only on the ion concentration gradient within
the channel in the direction perpendicular to the water flow, the
electricity generation persists throughout the day and can be tuned
by varying the salinity. Increasing the salt concentration of the
seawater to 20 wt %, the V
OC increased
to 250 mV in a single channel. In an evaporator connected with four
such channels, we achieved a maximum output power density of 9.9 mW
m–2 in a series combination without sacrificing
the evaporation rate. Furthermore, removing agglomerated salt from
the evaporator surface, we harvested salt at a rate of 0.33 kg m–2 h–1. Therefore, our approach provides
an alternative way of freshwater generation, salt harvesting, and
all-day-long electricity production simultaneously.
The water-energy co-generation technologies are urgent to exploit their ability to address the challenges and opportunities for the water-energy nexus. This report presents a cuboid-shaped interfacial solar steam generator made...
Low-cost, stable, and easy-to-fabricate resistive switching memory (RSM) devices are highly desirable for next-generation nonvolatile memories. Spinel-structured CuFe2O4 (CFO), composed of earth-abundant, environmentally friendly elements, is a multifunctional material mainly featuring super-paramagnetism. This work explores the potential of spin-coated CFO thin films as an active material in RSM. A simple fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/CFO/Ag device shows a bipolar resistive switching behavior with the problems like scattered SET and RESET voltages and endurance deterioration. Adding a TiO2 layer in the conventional device, we overcame the above limitations and achieved additional advantages of multilevel switching and improved temperature stability. The solution-processed FTO/TiO2/CFO/Ag bilayer device shows stable endurance with a maximum ON/OFF ratio of 100 with the ability to have multiple high resistance states and exhibits excellent temperature stability up to 250 °C. Our results further enhance the multifunctionality of CFO with the potential of being low-cost multilevel RSM.
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