Hydroelectric power plant on a paper strip

Das, S. S., Kar, S. , Anwar, T. and Saha, P. (2018) Hydroelectric power plant on a paper strip. Lab on a Chip, 18(11), pp. 1560-1568. (doi: 10.1039/C7LC01350G) (PMID:29722772)

Abstract

We exploit the combinatorial advantage of electrokinetics and tortuosity of a cellulose-based paper network on laboratory grade filter paper for the development of a simple, inexpensive, yet extremely robust (shows constant performance for 12 days) ‘paper-and-pencil’-based device for energy harvesting applications. We successfully achieve harvesting of a maximum output power of ∼640 pW in a single channel, while the same is significantly improved (by ∼100 times) with the use of a multichannel microfluidic array (maximum of up to 20 channels). Furthermore, we also provide theoretical insights into the observed phenomenon and show that the experimentally predicted trends agree well with our theoretical calculations. Thus, we envisage that such ultra-low cost devices may turn out to be extremely useful in energizing analytical microdevices in resource limited settings, for instance, in extreme point of care diagnostic applications.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kar, Dr Shantimoy
• Authors: Das, S. S., Kar, S., Anwar, T., and Saha, P.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Lab on a Chip
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1473-0197
• ISSN (Online): 1473-0189
• Published Online: 23 April 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
• First Published: First published in Lab on a Chip 18(11):1560-1568
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy