Potential for natural evaporation as a reliable renewable energy resource

Cavusoglu, Ahmet Hamdi; Chen, Xi; Gentine, Pierre; Şahin, Özgür

doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00581-w

Cited by 171 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…[21] From a functional viewpoint, also the proposed soft bistable structures can be optimized toward specific applications, for example renewable energy: the ability to harvest energy from the natural evaporation of water could be of interest where other energy sources are not available, especially for autonomous systems. [32] Regarding the study limitations, the model-based approach we propose to study HBL should be extended to HBS by also modeling the snap-through energy barrier between the two stable states. The energetic barrier is strictly related to the value of the parameter w  and it depends on the geometrical and elastic parameters of the system, [22] while the trigger of the snapping is related to the active layer capability to deform the bistable sheet.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/admi201901310mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant‐Inspired Soft Bistable Structures Based on Hygroscopic Electrospun Nanofibers

Lunni

Cianchetti

Filippeschi

et al. 2020

Adv Materials Inter

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The tissue composition and microstructures of plants have dynamic morphologies that change according to their environments. Recently, multifunctional responsive materials and smart structures also took inspiration from these plants' features. Dionaea muscipula leaves provide a remarkable example of an optimized structure that, owing to the synergistic integration of bistability, material, and geometrical properties, permits to overcome the performance limits of purely diffusive processes. In this paper, a hygroscopic bistable structure (HBS) inspired by the Venus flytrap leaves is presented, obtained by bonding prestretched poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) layers prior to depositing electrospun polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibers. A hygroresponsive bilayer (HBL) is also obtained by electrospinning of PEO on an unstretched PDMS layer. The hygroscopic material (Young's modulus and hygroscopic expansion) is mechanically characterized so as to predict the response time of a bending HBL in response to a step humidity variation. The HBS response time (≈1 s) is sensibly lower than the one of purely diffusive HBL (≈10 s) thanks to bistability. An illustrative implementation is also presented, exploiting an HBS to trigger the curvature of a PDMS optical focusing system. The developed plant‐inspired soft bistable structure can also be used for sensing (e.g., humidity), energy harvesting, as well as advanced soft robotics applications.

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Section: Doi: 101002/admi201901310mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant‐Inspired Soft Bistable Structures Based on Hygroscopic Electrospun Nanofibers

Lunni

Cianchetti

Filippeschi

et al. 2020

Adv Materials Inter

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“…[7,8] A variety of materials, such as graphene oxide, [9][10][11][12] polymers, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] liquid crystals, [14,29,30] paper, [31,32] and biologically based materials [6][7][8][33][34][35][36] can serve as hygroscopic actuators. [7,8,38] Despite the potential of humidityresponsive materials, relatively low work densities and slow responses limit the scope of applications. [7,8,38] Despite the potential of humidityresponsive materials, relatively low work densities and slow responses limit the scope of applications.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spore‐Based Water‐Resistant Water‐Responsive Actuators with High Power Density

Çakmak

Tinay

Chen

et al. 2019

Adv Materials Technologies

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require external stimuli such as high electric fields, or high temperatures and pressures. [1,2] These materials can be driven by perturbations to the ambient humidity or with natural fluctuations. [7,8] A variety of materials, such as graphene oxide, [9][10][11][12] polymers, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] liquid crystals, [14,29,30] paper, [31,32] and biologically based materials [6][7][8][33][34][35][36] can serve as hygroscopic actuators. These actuators exhibit curling and folding, [10,14,19] walking, [17,21,24,37] gripping, [18] and power generation functions. [7,8,38] Despite the potential of humidityresponsive materials, relatively low work densities and slow responses limit the scope of applications. Studies of hygroscopic properties of Bacillus spores have shown that these dormant microorganisms exhibit actuation capabilities, with energy densities up to about 20 MJ m −3 , which raise the possibility of using spores as building blocks of macroscopic actuators. [8] However, assembly of spores into larger materials while retaining their actuation performance presents challenges. In particular, because spores do not adhere strongly to each other, approaches that strengthen spore-spore interactions are needed. Therefore, initial demonstrations of spore-based actuators used mixtures of spores with water soluble adhesives. These mixtures were then deposited onto plastic films to create various actuators and energy harvesting devices. [7] However, the resulting materials exhibited low work density and specific work in comparison to individual spores. Importantly, while water soluble adhesives simplify the fabrication process, they are prone to degradation when placed in direct contact with water, making it difficult to use in waterdriven applications. Therefore, different approaches are needed to enhance the work density and robustness of spore-based materials.Here, we report spore-based actuators that use waterresistant UV-curable adhesives and achieve work densities up to 0.44 MJ m −3 , which is an order of magnitude higher than the synthetic humidity-responsive polymers. [22][23][24][25] The water resistance of the spore-based actuators allowed direct waterdriven actuation, which reduced the response times by nearly 100-fold. We also leveraged the UV curability of these adhesives to facilitate rapid fabrication of complex dynamic and/or adaptive structures using photolithography.Bacillus subtilis spores exhibit hygroscopic actuation capabilities (Figure 1c) and have shown high energy densities Active materials and surfaces that are less intrusive and more compatible with humans and their environment are critical for robotic applications. Humidity-and water-responsive materials are emerging as versatile alternatives to commonly used actuators in robotic systems, due to ease of actuation with humidity gradients and pervasiveness of water in the environment. However, these materials exhibit relatively low work densities and slow responses, and they are degraded when placed in ...

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“…With the increasing demand for economic development, water pollution is getting worse, which puts more stress on clean water resources, especially in developing countries . Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to address this global issue . A variety of methods have been developed for water treatment, such as sorption, evaporation, and filtration .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1,2] Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to address this global issue. [3] Av ariety of methods have been developed for water treatment, such as sorption, [4] evaporation, [5] and filtration. [6] The water purificatione fficiency of each method is dependento nt he materials used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gel–Emulsion‐Templated Polymeric Aerogels for Water Treatment by Organic Liquid Removal and Solar Vapor Generation

et al. 2020

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The importance of water cannot be overstated. It is the most important natural resource for our survival and development. The development of suitable materials for efficient water purification will provide a critical contribution for sustainable water use. In this context, a gel–emulsion‐templated synthesis of a polymeric aerogel has been developed for water treatment. Owing to its hydrophobic nature, the aerogel shows high sorption (nearly 20 times its weight) for organic liquids, such as toluene, phenol, and nitrobenzene, and can be used to remove them from water. The aerogel shows low thermal conductivity (0.032 W m−1 K−1) and excellent light absorption efficiency (>92 %) after carbonization, which provides the possibility for the construction of an interfacial solar vapor generation system. The as‐prepared materials are used to develop a two‐step approach to remove both organic and inorganic contaminants (salts) from water. Importantly, the aerogel shows excellent reusability and high efficiency both for oil sorption and for solar vapor generation. Moreover, the low cost and easy scale‐up of the preparation process lay a solid foundation for practical application. It is anticipated that the prepared aerogels would contribute not only to water purification but also to other related areas.

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Potential for natural evaporation as a reliable renewable energy resource

Cited by 171 publications

References 56 publications

Plant‐Inspired Soft Bistable Structures Based on Hygroscopic Electrospun Nanofibers

Plant‐Inspired Soft Bistable Structures Based on Hygroscopic Electrospun Nanofibers

Spore‐Based Water‐Resistant Water‐Responsive Actuators with High Power Density

Gel–Emulsion‐Templated Polymeric Aerogels for Water Treatment by Organic Liquid Removal and Solar Vapor Generation

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