Project description
Droplets slip sliding away could generate electricity
The study of factors affecting wettability, or the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface, has been an important area of research regarding cleaning and self-cleaning surfaces. Interestingly, the sliding behaviour of liquid droplets on solid surfaces can also lead to surface charging much like static electricity between two solids. The EU-funded DynaMo project is planning to harness this electrification to generate electrical energy. Doing so will require detailed characterisation of the interactions at the contact line to maximise the charge transfer. High-tech measurement and visualisation devices will assist the team in designing high-performing nano- and microstructured surfaces that they can implement in small-scale energy generators with a lot of power.
Objective
Water drops sliding over hydrophobic surfaces can lead to surface charging. In contrast to charging caused by friction between two solid phases, drop slide electrification is largely unexplored. Slide electrification has been consistently reported, but results are difficult to reproduce. No theory or quantitative explanation currently exists. One reason for the lack of quantitative understanding is that the deposition of charge is a non-equilibrium effect and depends essentially on microscopic processes at the contact line. Slide electrification is relevant for the friction of drops and possible corrosion due to ions deposited on surfaces. It has potential as a means of power generation.
Based on a recently developed lateral adhesion force apparatus (DAFI) and a new theoretical approach to describe slide electrification, we aim for a fundamental understanding of charge separation at sliding drops. Thus we plan to
• identify important parameters for slide electrification (surface chemistry, substrate material, thickness, slide distance, velocity, drop rate, pH value, salt, atmosphere), and
• construct a fast, inverted Reflectance Interference Microscope (RIM) to image the movement of the sliding contact line with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. RIM will be combined with DAFI and electronics to detect charge transfer.
• Experiments using macroscopic drops will be complemented by moving micron-sized drops (<1 pL) over surfaces using a liquid probe microscope and simultaneously measuring the charge transfer.
• Based on the microscopic processes identified above we develop a theory to predict charge transfer.
Using this fundamental understanding, we will explore the potential of slide electrification for electric energy generation. Our objectives are to design a nano- and microstructured surface, which provides maximal power output, and build small scale devices to generate electric energy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2019-ADG
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80539 Munchen
Germany
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