Moisture-enabled electricity generation (MEG) is regarded as a highly promising technique for sustainable electric power. Carbon dots (CDs) are shown to have great promise in MEG devices due to their low-cost fabrication and tunable surface groups, but their potential in MEG devices has not been fully exploited. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and effective method to significantly enhance the output of a CD-based MEG device based on CD surface functionalization using a strong ionizing organic acid. Compared to a bare CD-based MEG device, a voltage output of a 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid (1,5-NDSA) functionalized CD (S-CD)-based MEG device shows great performance, with a voltage that reaches up to 380 mV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest value reported for a CD-based MEG device to date. Our results show that the large number of protons produced by the S-CDs facilitates the creation of a strong proton gradient and improves ionic conductivity, thus leading to an enhancement in the electricity output. By simply connecting MEG devices in series, the overall assembled device can generate enough electricity to power an electronic calculator. Furthermore, the output of the as-prepared device can be greatly enhanced under the flow of moist air, which is expected to make it useful for windy and high humidity areas.

中文翻译：

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使用强电离有机酸通过碳点表面功能化增强水分发电

湿气发电（MEG）被认为是一种非常有前途的可持续电力技术。碳点 (CD) 由于其制造成本低和表面基团可调，在 MEG 设备中显示出巨大的潜力，但它们在 MEG 设备中的潜力尚未得到充分利用。在此，我们展示了一种简单有效的方法，可以使用强电离有机酸显着提高基于 CD 表面功能化的基于 CD 的 MEG 设备的输出。与基于裸 CD 的 MEG 器件相比，基于 1,5-萘二磺酸 (1,5-NDSA) 功能化 CD (S-CD) 的 MEG 器件的电压输出显示出出色的性能，电压高达380 毫伏。据我们所知，这是迄今为止基于 CD 的 MEG 设备报告的最高值。我们的研究结果表明，S-CD 产生的大量质子有助于产生强质子梯度并提高离子电导率，从而提高电输出。通过简单地串联 MEG 设备，整个组装设备可以产生足够的电力来为电子计算器供电。此外，在潮湿空气流动的情况下，可以大大提高所制备设备的输出，这有望使其适用于多风和高湿度地区。