By utilizing the nanochannels in the cellulose-based fabric network traditionally woven, electrical power generation has been made possible by achieving guided movement of saline water amidst continuous evaporation, very much analogous to water transport across the parts of a living plant. The regular cellulose-based wearable textile, in this case, acts as a medium for the motion of salt ions through the interlace fibrous nano-scale network by capillary action, inducing an electric potential in the process. The device design inherently exploits a large transpiration surface for achieving a sustainable motion of salt ions, through natural evaporation phenomenon.
As compared to existing methods of energy harvesting from complex resources, the electricity generation occurs in the natural ambiance. Further, in contrast to artificially engineered power generation devices needing external pumping resources, here the intrinsic surface energy of the fabric is used to drive the current. In a hot and dry environment, the natural evaporation gets spontaneously enhanced, so that the flow-induced electrical potential can be maximized. This device, thus, may turn out to be extremely effective in geographically warm and dry regions of the earth. Further, the electricity generation may be up-scaled massively by systematically drying a set of regular wearable garments under the sun-light. This eventually culminates into a utilitarian paradigm of low-cost power harvesting in extreme rural settings.
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