Low-grade energy harvesting from the ambient environment promises to relieve the energy shortage in the remote regions or emergency needs. The reported materials employed for low-grade energy harvesting requires costly raw materials and highly technical skills, hindering the applications in isolated regions or after natural disasters. Herein, we report the use of commercial air-laid paper and carbon ink to harvest electrokinetic energy in the capillary flow. The paper-based electrokinetic power generator with size of 6 cm × 1 cm could continuously generate an output voltage of 0.35 V and current of 33.9 μA in the ambient condition (20 °C and 50% Relative Humidity). The output power could maintain for over 120 h. When connected in series and in parallel, the power generator with excellent flexibility could power some common electronic devices in the atmosphere, such as light-emitting diode, electronic calculator and watch. This work offers a rational approach to employing low-cost materials for ambient energy harvesting, thus advancing the application in portable and wearable electronic devices.

从周围环境中收集低等级的能源有望缓解偏远地区的能源短缺或紧急需求。报道的用于低等级能量收集的材料需要昂贵的原材料和高度的技术技能，从而阻碍了在偏远地区或自然灾害后的应用。在此，我们报告了使用商用气流成网纸和碳墨水来收集毛细流中的动能。在环境条件（20°C和50％相对湿度）下，纸制电动发电机的尺寸为6 cm×1 cm，可以连续产生0.35 V的输出电压和33.9μA的电流。输出功率可以维持超过120小时。当串联和并联时，具有出色灵活性的发电机可以为大气中的某些常见电子设备供电，例如发光二极管，电子计算器和手表。这项工作提供了一种采用低成本材料进行环境能量收集的合理方法，从而促进了在便携式和可穿戴电子设备中的应用。