High-performance flexible and integratable MEG devices from sulfonated carbon solid acids containing strong Brønsted acid sites

Abstract

In response to the energy crisis, it is of great significance to develop spontaneous electric generation devices and apply them in the field of wearable and self-powered devices. Due to their advantages of being non-polluting, with simple structure and wide application conditions, moist-electric generators (MEGs) have received widespread attention. However, MEGs have been inevitably faced with the drawbacks of low content of active groups, short lifetime, and poor flexibility after assembly into devices, which limit their development into broader applications. In this work, sucrose-sulfonated carbon (SC) containing numerous strong Brønsted acid sites (–SO₃H) was used to prepare ME membranes (PSM) and develop rigid and flexible membrane-type moist-electric generators (SC-MEG). The SC-MEGs can provide a high voltage of 0.62 V and a current of 2.5 μA cm⁻² at 70% relative humidity change (ΔRH). In addition, SC-MEGs can be made into larger chain integrated power supplies (CIPS). A CIPS containing 10 SC-MEGs can provide an outstanding 6 V output voltage and can be tailored to the desired voltage output. These characteristics allow SC-MEG to be used in a wide range of portable wearable electronics. Our design provides a novel idea for the design of self-powered electronic devices.