Researchers from Switzerland are tapping into an unexpected energy source right under our feet: wooden floorings. When walked on, these wooden floors harvest enough energy to power LED lightbulbs and small electronics.
The team began by transforming wood into a nanogenerator (纳米发电机) by sandwiching two pieces of functionalized wood between electrodes (电极). 'The wood pieces become electrically charged through periodic contacts and separations when stepped on，a phenomenon called the turboelectric effect. The electrons can transfer from one object to another, producing electricity. To make wood that is able to attract and lose electrons, the scientists coated one piece of the wood with polydimethylsiloxane (PIMS), a matter that gains electrons upon contact, while functionalizing the other piece of wood with ZIF - 8 which has a higher tendency to lose electrons. The device's electricity output was also stable under steady forces for up to 1, 500 cycles.
The researchers found that a wood floor with a surface area slightly smaller than a piece of paper can produce enough energy to drive household IED lamps and small electronic devices such as calculators. They successfully lit up a lightbulb with the device when a human adult walked upon it.
The next step for Panzarasa and his team, whose work has been published in Matter journal, is to further improve the man generator with chemical coatings that are more eco-friendly and easier to operate." Even though we initially focused on basic research, eventually, the research that we do should lead to applications in the real world," says Panzarasa.
: clcctrode 
: wooden floor 
: chemical coatings
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