Zwitterionic Copolymeric Bilayer for Moisture-Induced Electrical Energy Generation by Harvesting Atmospheric Water in Arid Environments.

Authors

Jong Ha Park, Peisheng He, Nikita Lukhanin, Sujoy Ghosh, Sejun Park, Ryan Rundle, Liwei Lin

Published in

ACS applied materials & interfaces. Aug 26, 2026. Epub Aug 26, 2026.

Abstract

We report a dual-action energy harvester featuring a synergistic copolymeric network designed for efficient atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) and moisture-induced electricity generation. The scientific significance of this work lies in the first-time application of a zwitterionic [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide (DMAPS) and acrylamide (AM) copolymer for AWH. The water-harvesting film is composed of DMAPS and AM, which is dried, soaked in LiCl solution, frozen using liquid nitrogen, and freeze-dried for 24 h to obtain P(DMAPS-co-AM)-LiCl with porous monolithic structure. The energy-harvesting layer is assembled from a P(DMAPS-co-acrylic acid (AA)) copolymer. By incorporating the DMAPS monomer into both layers, we establish a chemically compatible and homologous interface that facilitates efficient ionic transport and minimizes interfacial resistance-a critical advantage for dual-action devices often overlooked in previous studies. Dynamic vapor adsorption measurements demonstrate superior hygroscopicity, with an equilibrium water capacity of 0.873 g/g at 30% RH, which increases to 1.72 g/g at 60% RH. Electrical generation is proposed to arise primarily from the dissociation and directional migration of protons (H+) across the zwitterionic interface, a mechanism supported by cyclic voltammetry analysis. Under an arid condition of 30% RH, the system produces a stable open-circuit voltage of 0.65 V and an average short-circuit current density of 1.15 μA/cm2 for over 2500 min continuously, achieving an energy density of ∼112.1 mJ/cm2 and a maximum power density of 23.4 nW/cm2. As such, this integrated material approach offers a robust and scalable route for autonomous, self-powered systems in low-humidity environments.

PMID:
42674668
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Sep 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.