Multifunctional piezoelectric yarns and meshes for efficient fog water collection, energy harvesting, and sensing

Abstract

Given global water scarcity and the quest for sustainable energy, there's a pressing need for integrated approaches addressing water-energy interdependence worldwide. A practical approach for this challenge involves the implementation of fog water collectors. Herein, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) multifunctional device capable of harvesting water and electricity from wind is developed and tested, collecting up to 365 mg cm−2 h−1 of fog water. Due to the piezoelectric nature of electrospun PVDF, these yarns and meshes not only serve as piezoelectric sensors, enabling the detection of incoming fog flow and determination of its speed and, bust also harvest electricity by charging a capacitor, making it a green and renewable power source. In this study, promising insights are offered into developing efficient fog water collection methods and utilizing piezoelectric fiber-based yarns and meshes for multifunctional applications in sustainable water management, energy harvesting, and sensing in a single device.