NanoTechnology: Materials, Processes & Devices

This study presents a novel moisture-induced energy harvester designed for the operation in arid environments. The dual-stage system integrates a water harvester (WH) to capture atmospheric moisture and an energy harvester (EH) to produce electricity. Key advancements of this work include: (1) continuous moisture-to-DC current outputs for more than four days, (2) operational under a low humidity (20%) condition, and (3) an ultrahigh energy density of 12.3 mJ/cm2 − 400 times higher than those of conventional moisture-based energy harvesters without using water harvesters. The proposed...

This work reports a platform based on ultrasound for mid-air particle manipulations using a 2×2 piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) array. Three achievements have been demonstrated as compared to the state-of-art: (1) high SPL (sound pressure level) of 120 dB at a distance 12 mm away by an individual lithium-niobate pMUT; (2) a numerically simulated and experimentally demonstrated 2D focal point control scheme by adjusting the phase-delay of individual pMUTs; and (3) the experimental demonstration of moving a 0.7 mg foam plastic particle of 12 mm away in the mid-air by...

Safe and deformable soft batteries are highly desirable for applications such as mobile electronics and conformable systems on irregular surfaces. Conventional Li-ion batteries rely on rigid packaging and hermetic sealing to block moisture intrusion and prevent leakage of toxic, flammable organic electrolytes. In contrast, recently reported deformable or stretchable batteries provide good conformability but suffer rapid performance degradation in ambient conditions, limiting their operating lifetimes. The fundamental challenge is that mechanical softness and gas impermeability are mutually...