Recent progress of energy harvesting and conversion coupled with atmospheric water gathering

Abstract

With the advantages of environmental protection, energy saving and sustainability, the technology of energy harvesting and conversion coupled with atmospheric water gathering has gradually attracted the attention of researchers under the threat of global water and energy issues. This review paper briefly described the basic working principles of energy harvesting and conversion coupled with atmospheric water gathering technology at first and then comprehensively summarized the representative materials and corresponding devices recently developed for the generation of different kinds of energies (such as electricity and chemical energy, especially hydrogen energy) by energy harvesting and conversion coupled with atmospheric water gathering technology. Electricial energy was generated based on four effects (thermoelectric, electrokinetic, triboelectric and hydrovoltaic effects) and two processes (electrochemical and photoelectric chemical processes), while hydrogen was produced based on photoelectrochemistry, photocatalysis and photovoltaic electrolysis. Based on the above analysis, it was found that the great progress, including new mechanisms and new technical paths, has been achieved on energy harvesting and conversion coupled with atmospheric water gathering technology in the last few years, but there are still many challenges to overcome and directions to explore for further development. At last, this review paper discussed some potential strategies for promoting the output efficiency and performance of energy harvesting and conversion devices. Optimizing the materials and components used in energy harvesting and conversion devices and adding energy storage modules to achieve all-weather energy supply will push this technology into a wider range of applications and better solve the global water and energy crises.