In this Letter, we discuss the surface, ionic properties, and scale-up potential of an active transducer that generated electricity from natural water motion. When a liquid contacts a solid surface, an electrical double layer (EDL) is always formed at the solid/liquid interface. By modulating the EDL, the active transducer could generate a peak voltage of ∼3 V and a peak power of ∼5 μW. Interestingly, there were specific salinities of solution droplets that showed maximum performance and different characteristics according to the ions' nature. Analyzing the results macroscopically, we tried to figure out the origins of the active transducing precipitated by ions dynamics. Also, we demonstrated the scale-up potential for practical usage by multiple electrode design.
Keywords: electrical double layer; interface science; ion dynamics; ion sorption.