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Vertical iontronic energy storage based on osmotic effects and electrode redox reactions

Nature Energy volume 9, pages 263–271 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Making salinity gradient energy practical is a great challenge. Despite recent advancements, the practicality of osmotic energy for portable electronics remains doubtful due to its limited power output and portability constraints. Here we report a method for optimizing the transport of alkali metal ions within two-dimensional nanofluidic channels and coupling it with tailored interfacial redox reactions to store the osmotic energy in a space of tens of micrometres within the cut edge of a polymer film. An ultrahigh output power density of 15,900 W m−2 has been achieved. By connecting the devices in series, commercial electronics can be powered due to the high volumetric specific energy density (9.46 Wh cm−3) and power density (106.33 W cm−3). This work introduces an approach for storing iontronic energy based on osmotic effects, providing a platform for developing renewable, ultrathin and safe power sources.

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Fig. 1: The vertical iontronic energy storage device.
Fig. 2: Characterization of ion-transport properties in the planar iontronic energy storage devices with an AIS.
Fig. 3: Working mechanism of the planar iontronic energy storage device with LiI.
Fig. 4: Characterization of the vertical iontronic energy storage device.

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Data availability

All datasets analysed and generated during the current study are available in both the paper and the Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We thank X. Xie from the group of D.W. at Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems for their help with the computational studies. This work was supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (grant number IS23040), the National Natural Science Foundation (grant number 62274101) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (grant numbers C6020-22G and C7001-22Y).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Feiyao Yang, Puguang Peng, Xiang Li, Shaoxin Li, Zhong Lin Wang & Di Wei

  2. School of Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Puguang Peng, Xiang Li, Shaoxin Li & Zhong Lin Wang

  3. Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology, School of Integrated Circuits, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Zhao-Yi Yan, Houfang Liu & Tian-Ling Ren

  4. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Hongzhao Fan & Yanguang Zhou

  5. Yonsei Frontier Lab, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Zhong Lin Wang

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  1. Feiyao Yang
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Contributions

D.W. and Z.L.W. proposed the idea and supervised the whole project. D.W., F.Y. and P.P. designed the experiment and performed the device fabrication and characterization. F.Y. and P.P. synthesized the samples. F.Y., P.P., X.L. and S.L. performed the corresponding measurements. Z.-Y.Y., H.F., H.L., T.-L.R. and Y.Z. performed the computational studies. D.W. and F.Y. wrote the paper. All the authors discussed the results and commented on the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhong Lin Wang or Di Wei.

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Nature Energy thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Discussion, Notes 1–11, Tables 1–7, Figs. 1–36 and Refs. 1–59.

Supplementary Video 1

The vertical iontronic energy storage device can power a commercial electronic watch.

Supplementary Video 2

The vertical iontronic energy storage device can power a commercial electronic calculator.

Supplementary Video 3

The vertical iontronic energy storage device can power an electronic LCD screen.

Supplementary Video 4

The fabrication process of the vertical iontronic energy storage device.

Supplementary Data

Source data for Supplementary figures.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 1

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 2

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 3

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 4

Statistical source data.

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Yang, F., Peng, P., Yan, ZY. et al. Vertical iontronic energy storage based on osmotic effects and electrode redox reactions. Nat Energy 9, 263–271 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01431-4

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