Development of Bacterial Cellulose Nanofiber Membrane-Based Energy Harvesting Device

The Device can Generate Electric Energy with a Small Amount of Water and Electrolyte and is Expected to be Used as a Renewable Energy Source for Skin Attachable and Implantable Wearable Devices.

Professor Jun Yongseok published the article in Nano Energy

▲ (From left) Professor Jun Yongseok (corresponding author, Graduate School of Energy and Environment) and Research Professor Yun Yong Ju (first author).

Professor Jun Yongseok’s group of the Graduate School of Energy and Environment fabricated a bacterial cellulose nanofiber membrane and developed an energy harvesting device capable of generating energy with water and electrolyte in small amounts at the level of several microliters. 

Professor Jun’s group injected 50 μl of water to the energy harvesting device based on the 20 μm-thick bacterial cellulose membrane and a single drop of an electrolyte to another device, and successfully generated power of 8.8 µW and 6.07 mW for two hours, respectively.

The corresponding author, Professor Jun of the Graduate School of Energy and Environment, commented, “In this study, we focused on not only confirming the possibility of energy harvesting with a small amount of water and electrolyte but also investigating the related power generation principles. We will develop an energy harvesting device capable of electric energy generation by capturing moisture from the air and integrating it with wearable biosignal sensors under development in order to develop a self-charging wearable device that can be operated without repeated charging.” Professor Jun also said, “The bacterial cellulose nanofiber, the raw material of our energy harvesting device, is an eco-friendly material that is harmless to the human body. So, it will be used as energy sources for wearable energy harvesting devices that can solve both energy and environmental issues.”

The research was jointly conducted by the Research Professor Yun Yong Ju of the Graduate School of Energy and Environment in collaboration with the research groups of Professor Jun and Professor Yoon Ok Ja of Chung-Ang University. The research was funded by the Alchemist Project of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Creative and Adventurous Research Foundation Support Program of the Ministry of Education, and the Green School KU-KIST Graduate School Project. The results were published online in Nano Energy (IF=17.6 as of 2022), a renowned international journal in the field of energy, on October 12.

* Title of article: Metal/bacteria cellulose nanofiber bilayer membranes for high-performance hydrovoltaic electric power generation

<Image descriptions>

▲ 1. Structure of the energy harvesting device based on the bacterial cellulose nanofiber membrane.

▲ 2. Analysis of surface structure of the energy harvesting device based on the bacterial cellulose nanofiber membrane.

▲ 3. Performance of the energy harvesting device based on the bacterial cellulose nanofiber membrane.

▲ 4. Electric energy generation principle of the energy harvesting device based on the bacterial cellulose nanofiber membrane.