Uncovering internal water-flux and surface-potential dominance in Hydrogel Moisture-Enabled Power Generation: Mechanistic Insights and Performance Enhancement

Key Points

• Hydrogel designs enhance power generation in humidity through internal water-flux and surface-potential dynamics, leading to significant improvements.
• The study found that utilizing bilayer and ion-selective designs contributes to increased energy conversion efficiency in hydrogels.
• Assessment using Kelvin-probe force microscopy provided insights into the mechanisms driving humidity-based power generation.
• These findings may enable further innovations in renewable energy technologies leveraging ambient humidity for power.