Rational Design of MOF-Based Hybrid Nanomaterials for Directly Harvesting Electric Energy from Water Evaporation

The continuous exploration of clean-energy technology is critical for the sustainable development of society. The recent work on the electric energy harvesting from water evaporation has made a significant contribution to the utilization of clean energy for self-powering systems. Here, a novel metal–organic-framework-based hybrid nanomaterial is delicately designed and synthesized by the growth of UIO-66 nanoparticles on 2D AlOOH nanoflakes. Due to the combined merits from the 2D morphology, which is inherited from the AlOOH nanoflakes, and the high surface potential, which originates from the UIO-66 nanoparticles, the device made of the AlOOH/UIO-66 hybrid nanomaterials can harvest electric energy from natural water evaporation. An open-circuit voltage of 1.63 ± 0.10 V can be achieved on the prototype devices made of the hybrid nanomaterial. As a proof-of-concept application, a small electric appliance, e.g., a digital calculator, is powered up by a 3 × 3 device array connected in a combined series–parallel configuration.