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    Collective Electricity Generation over the Kilovolt Level from Water Droplets
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    • Wei Deng
      Wei Deng
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Wei Deng
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9459-8151
    • Yufeng Zhu
      Yufeng Zhu
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Yufeng Zhu
    • Kelan Zhang
      Kelan Zhang
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Kelan Zhang
    • Yuxuan Yuan
      Yuxuan Yuan
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Yuxuan Yuan
    • Tao Hu
      Tao Hu
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
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    • Xiao Wang
      Xiao Wang
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Xiao Wang
    • Jidong Li
      Jidong Li
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Jidong Li
    • Xuemei Li
      Xuemei Li
      College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
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    • Zhuhua Zhang
      Zhuhua Zhang
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Zhuhua Zhang
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6406-0959
    • Wanlin Guo
      Wanlin Guo
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      More by Wanlin Guo
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2302-8044
    • Jun Yin*
      Jun Yin
      State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
      *Email: [email protected]
      More by Jun Yin
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3375-8160
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    Nano Letters

    Cite this: Nano Lett. 2025, 25, 18, 7457–7464
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    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01064
    Published April 24, 2025
    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
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    Abstract

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    Collective behavior enables groups of organisms to achieve feats far exceeding individual capability. Inspired by this, we present a novel droplet-based electricity generator that leverages the collective dynamics of multiple water droplets to significantly enhance electrical output, achieving orders of magnitude improvement compared with single-droplet devices. It is revealed that grouped water droplets, although spatially separated, coordinate via charge exchange with a solid surface and external charge transfer. Consequently, the solid surface charge density is significantly enhanced, elevating the charge transfer. This collective effect readily generates peak voltages exceeding one kilovolt, sufficient for air ionization and nitrogen fixation, with potential applications in nutrient production. We anticipate that this collective strategy will significantly advance the design and applications of droplet-based hydrovoltaic devices.

    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society

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    The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01064.

    • Comparison among DEGs in the literature and in this work; discussions on the effects of droplet lengths; digital photos and schematic diagrams of devices and experimental setup; long-term output; equivalent circuit; additional parametric investigation; tests of devices without inner or outer electrodes; capacitors’ charging profiles (PDF)

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    Nano Letters

    Cite this: Nano Lett. 2025, 25, 18, 7457–7464
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c01064
    Published April 24, 2025
    Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

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