Liquid-free antibacterial ionic conductive elastomer for moisture-electric generator

Moisture-electric generators (MEGs) are an emerging clean and accessible next generation of green power generation equipment. However, most hygroscopic materials used for MEGs still face challenges of low moisture absorption capacity and lack of anti-bacterial properties, resulting in low output voltage and poor long-term stability. In this work, a liquid-free antibacterial ionic conductive elastomer-based MEG was designed using L-carnitine/glycerol deep eutectic solvent with outstanding mechanical properties and great self-healing ability. Benefiting from the superb hygroscopic ability and ion transport capability, the assembled MEGs can spontaneously generate electricity over a wide relative humidity (RH) range from 30 % to 90 %, which can continuously output 0.83 V of voltage and 57.82 µA of current under 90 % RH for 6 h without obvious electrical performance degradation. Moreover, the MEGs can be directly used for breath monitoring and touch sensing. In addition, the ionic conductive elastomers exhibit long-term antibacterial ability, which ensures that the MEGs work stably for a long time. This work provides a feasible and efficient strategy to construct a green and high-performance energy source for sustainable and long-term applications.