Solar-induced hybrid energy harvesters for advanced oxidation water treatment

Abstract

Water treatment based on advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) supplies clean water to rural areas lacking electric power supply and/or during natural disasters and pandemics. Considering the abundance of solar energy in the ambient environment, the solar-driven AOPs show an interesting potential to driving the water purification process. Involving the energy harvester (EH) that harvests mechanical or thermal energy into electricity to the solar-driven AOPs can achieve sustainable and self-powered water purification. Herein, we summarize the recent progress in the application of solar-induced hybrid EHs that harvest solar and mechanical/thermal energy simultaneously to drive AOP water treatment. A detailed discussion of the solar-induced hybrid EHs enabling AOP water treatment based on the mechanisms of piezo-, tribo-, pyro-, and thermo-assisted photocatalysis is provided. In addition, this paper explores future opportunities and strategies of the solar-induced hybrid EHs to drive the AOP water treatment in actual situations with unstable and fluctuating environmental conditions.

Pyroelectric based energy harvesting devices: hybrid structures and applications

“…16,65,66 Therefore, to miniaturize the device and achieve high output performance, it would be highly desired to harvest both forms of energy from a single cell of the device simultaneously. [67][68][69] Researchers are particularly interested in lightweight, inexpensive, biocompatible, and exible polymeric materials with pyroelectric and piezoelectric features because they hold enormous potential in developing exible hybrid energy cells. [70][71][72] Lee et al constructed a highly exible, hybrid energyscavenging PYNG based on a micro-patterned piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) polymer, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphene nanosheets.…”

“…16,65,66 Therefore, to miniaturize the device and achieve high output performance, it would be highly desired to harvest both forms of energy from a single cell of the device simultaneously. 67–69 Researchers are particularly interested in lightweight, inexpensive, biocompatible, and flexible polymeric materials with pyroelectric and piezoelectric features because they hold enormous potential in developing flexible hybrid energy cells. 70–72…”

Recent Progress in Application‐Oriented Self‐Powered Microelectronics

“…As one of the most promising renewable energy harvesting technologies, solar energy harvesting technology is gradually maturing. Photovoltaic (PV) cells can efficiently convert solar energy into electricity based on the photovoltaic effect, [ 14 ] as shown in Figure 5b. A PV cell in the most typical structure consists of a p‐type semiconductor, n‐type semiconductor, and electrodes.…”

“…[12] Due to the universality, low grade, and cleanliness of these microenergy sources in the environment, they are considered effective alternative sources of power for distributed microelectronic devices. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Correspondingly, according to different energy sources, environmental energy harvesting technologies can be divided into the following main categories: thermal energy harvesting technology, [20] solar energy harvesting technology, [21] radio wave energy harvesting technology, [22] biochemical energy harvesting technology, [23] and mechanical energy harvesting technology. [24] Thermal energy has received widespread attention as a renewable energy source due to its wide distribution and huge energy storage.…”

Emergence of Non‐photoresponsive Catalytic Techniques for Environmental Remediation and Energy Generation

“…Catalysis plays a most promising and crucial role in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are considered to be responsible for oxidation and reduction reactions. ROSs such as H 2 O 2 , ⋅OH, ⋅O 2 − , and 1 O 2 are highly oxidized radicals and are capable of oxidizing pollutants into low or non‐toxic molecules and production of hydrogen and oxygen from water via water splitting [7–10] . Several catalysis techniques (eg., electrocatalysis, biocatalysis and photocatalysis) are used to generate ROS for promoting dye degradation, environmental remediation and clean fuel generation.…”