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Ferromagnetic Liquid Droplet on a

Superhydrophobic Surface for the
Transduction of Mechanical Energy to
Electricity Based on Electromagnetic
Induction
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Zheng Ma, Qi Wang, Jingwei Ai, and Bin Su*

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sı Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: Ferromagnetic liquids undergo reversible magnetization changes

upon varying external magnetic field levels. The movement of ferromagnetic liquid
droplets across a coil under an external magnetic field holds promise as an energy
transducer from mechanical force to electricity; however, it suffers from an adhesive
issue between the ferromagnetic liquid and the solid pedestal. We introduce a
superhydrophobic support that uses antiwetting surfaces to remarkably reduce
adhesion during the movement of ferromagnetic liquid droplets. Maxwell numerical
simulation was utilized to analyze the working mechanism and improve further
electrical outputs. By controlling the droplet size, the strength of the magnetic
bottom and the tilting speed of the test condition, we generated a ferromagnetic
liquid droplet-based superhydrophobic magnetoelectric energy transducer (FLD-
SMET) that can convert vibrational energy to electricity. When a 100 μL
ferromagnetic liquid droplet was used for FLD-SMET under a 13 mT magnetic
field, an electrical voltage response of 280 μV and electrical current response of ∼7.5
μA were generated using a shaking machine with a tilting speed of 9.5°/s. We thus show that such a device can serve as a self-
powered light buoy floating on a water surface. Our study presents an applied concept for the design of droplet-based energy
harvesters to convert surrounding vibrational energy to electricity.
KEYWORDS: ferromagnetic liquid, magnetoelectric, superhydrophobic, energy transducer, energy harvesting

gain magnetization under an external magnetic field and then

F erromagnetic liquids, commonly known as magnetic

fluids, are stable colloids of magnetic nanoparticles
dispersed in a basic fluid.1 Since their famous
application for hyperthermia treatment in 1993,2 ferromagnetic
liquids have received considerable attention from the engineer-
ing and material science communities for their magnet-
responsive property and deformability across multiple length
scales,3 which have been utilized in various applications, such
as in biomedical research, 4,5 bioreactors,6 microfluidic
devices,7,8 thermal management,9 energy harvesting10,11
electronics,12,13 and many other areas.14 With both ferromag-
netic properties and fluidity, ferromagnetic liquids can freely
adapt to different shapes and respond to small polydirectional
acceleration levels10 or low-frequency vibrations,11 providing
great potential in the design of electromagnetic energy
generation systems. Owing to the superparamagnetic feature
of nanoparticles in the ferromagnetic liquid, the liquid could
completely lose magnetization when the external magnetic field
disappears.15 The reversible magnetization of the ferromag-
netic liquid leads to an alternative strategy to generate
electricity. It can be speculated that the movement of
ferromagnetic liquid droplets across a coil under an external
magnetic field would lead to a change in magnetic flux through
the coil, as well as the conversion of its mechanical energy to
electricity (Scheme 1). However, adhesion usually exists
between the ferromagnetic liquid and solid substrates,
Received: April 26, 2021
Accepted: June 16, 2021
Published: June 18, 2021

© 2021 American Chemical Society https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c03539

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preventing the ferromagnetic liquid from moving and causing
inevitable residuals.
Scheme 1. Diagram of the Mechanism by Which the
Ferromagnetic Liquid Droplet-Based Superhydrophobic
Magnetoelectric Energy Transducer (FLD-SMET)
Generates Electricity from Mechanical Energya
a
(a) The Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the ferromagnetic liquid droplet
retain their random distribution before rolling into the magnetic field.
(b) When the ferromagnetic liquid droplet moves onto the external
magnetic field, the superparamagnetic property of the Fe 3O4
nanoparticles in the ferromagnetic liquid droplet enables these
nanoparticles to be magnetized. The magnetization of the Fe3O4
nanoparticles in turn changes the magnetic flux of the external field,
inducing electricity generation in the conductive coil. (c) After the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet moves away from the external magnetic
field area, Fe3O4 nanoparticles lose their magnetization and return to
the random distribution state, leading to the recovery of the external
field and thereby the generation of an electrical signal in the coil.
Lotus leaf bioinspired superhydrophobic surfaces16 are
special solid surfaces that can dramatically fight against the
permeation of water and force droplets to roll off easily. The
air pockets trapped in their surface microstructures can repel
water, leading to a <10%17,18 solid/liquid contact interface.
Therefore, it is reasonably believed that the employment of
superhydrophobic surfaces can solve the solid/liquid adhesive
problem in ferromagnetic liquid-based energy transducers.
Although a few reports19−23 demonstrate ferromagnetic liquid
droplets on superhydrophobic pedestals, their aims are
generally limited to controlled droplet motions rather than
the generation of electricity caused by droplet rolling. The
construction of low-adhesion interface for the motions of
ferromagnetic liquids and the need to explore magnetic
droplet-based energy transducers render this work very
challenging.
Here, we demonstrate that controlled motions of ferromag-
netic liquid droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces cause the
energy conversion of mechanical forces to electricity. The
droplet-based device has three parts: one ferromagnetic liquid
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droplet, a superhydrophobic pedestal, and a coil/magnet base.
The movement of a ferromagnetic liquid droplet across the
bottom coil under an external magnetic field causes a change in
magnetic flux through the coil, leading to the generation of
electricity. With the assistance of a shaking machine, the
movement of a 100 μL ferromagnetic liquid droplet under a 13
mT magnetic field generated an electrical voltage response of
280 μV and electrical current response of ∼7.5 μA when the
tilting speed of the shaking machine was 9.5°/s. The suggested
mechanism was analyzed by the Maxwell numerical simulation,
further improving the performance of the device by tuning the
droplet size, the strength of the magnetic bottom and the
tilting speed of the test condition. Finally, we demonstrated
that the sealed device served as a self-powered light buoy
floating on a water surface. Our insights provided here can be
applied more generally for the design of magnetic droplet-
based energy transducers to harvest mechanical vibrational
energy.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Ferrofluidic Droplet Generator. Figure 1 illustrates the
structure of a ferromagnetic liquid droplet-based super-
hydrophobic magnetoelectric energy transducer (FLD-
SMET) on the basis of the model in Scheme 1. The FLD-
SMET was constructed with three main parts: a ferromagnetic
liquid droplet, a superhydrophobic pedestal, and a coil/magnet
base, as shown in Figure 1a. The magnetic bottom was
prepared with the Nd2Fe14B/Ecoflex composite, and it was
easy to tune the magnetic intensity to avoid the stuck of the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet. Generally, a polymeric surface
showed high adhesion to the ferromagnetic liquid droplet, of
which the static contact angle was approximately 62 ± 1°
(Figure S1). In a “glue & nanoparticles” treatment,24 the
polymeric surface was coated with a rough layer consisting of
hydrophobic silica nanoparticles, as shown in the SEM
observation (Figure 1f). Owing to the considerable roughness
and low surface energy, the as-prepared surfaces repel liquid
permeation. Parts b and c of Figure 1 show the static contact
angle and the dynamic sliding angle of a 5 μL ferromagnetic
liquid droplet on the superhydrophobic surface, which were
∼155° and ∼1.7°, respectively.
Parts d and e of Figure 1 show top-view and side-view
optical images of the as-fabricated FLD-SMET. The black
ferromagnetic liquid droplet was elliptical in shape due to the
repellent effect of the superhydrophobic surface. The super-
hydrophobic coating on the polymeric pedestal guaranteed the
low adhesion of the surface to the water-based ferromagnetic
liquid droplet, allowing the droplet to remain in the Cassie
state with the presence of air pockets at the interfaces (Figure
1a). As a result, the droplet could easily roll without obvious
residuals on the pedestal. Figure 1g shows the HRTEM image
of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles in ferromagnetic
liquid with a particle size of ∼10 nm. With a magnet, the
ferromagnetic liquid can be magnetized; the ferroparamagnetic
property of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles was proven by the
magnetic hysteresis loop shown in Figure S2.
Figure 2a,b and Figure 2c,d show the electrical voltage and
current responses of the FLD-SMET to the tilting vibration. A
commercial shaking machine with adjustable tilting speed was
employed to provide controllable tilting vibration (Figure S3).
Obvious voltage peak signals at approximately 280 μV and
current peak signals at approximately 7 μA were observed with
a tilting speed of 9.5°/s (see green lines in Figure 2a−d),
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Figure 1. Ferromagnetic liquid droplet-based superhydrophobic energy transducer (FLD-SMET) can induce electricity generation from
mechanical energy. (a) The schematic diagram shows that the FLD-SMET has three main parts: a ferromagnetic liquid droplet, a
superhydrophobic pedestal, and a coil/magnet base. Air pockets trapped in the superhydrophobic pedestal allow the low adhesion of the
surface to the ferromagnetic liquid droplet. Thus, the ferromagnetic liquid droplet can remain in the Cassie state on the superhydrophobic
surface, which allows the droplet to easily roll. (b) A 5 μL ferromagnetic liquid droplet (Fe3O4 nanoparticles with an average diameter of 10
nm, 33 wt %) on the superhydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of 155° and (c) the sliding angle of only 1.7° are shown. (d) Top-
view and (e) side-view optical images of the as-fabricated FLD-SMET. (f) SEM image of the superhydrophobic surfaces. (g) HRTEM image
of ferroparamagnetic nanoparticles in ferromagnetic liquid. The inset image is the optical image of a vial of ferromagnetic liquid without/
with a magnet on the wall, indicating the ferroparamagnetic property of the liquid.

showing the transduction of mechanical energy to electricity.
The volume of a ferromagnetic liquid droplet was 100 μL,
while the magnetic intensity of the magnet plate was ∼13 mT
in the FLD-SMET. Compared to the previously reported work
that introduced ferromagnetic liquid into triboelectric nano-
generators (TENGs) or a hybrid system for electricity
generation,25,26 the superhydrophobic design of the FLD-
SMET in our work shows superior electrical current
generation. Currents with only a few nA levels were generated
by the friction of ferromagnetic droplet motion on the
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based TENG system, which
was limited by the saturated surface charge density of PTFE.27
To illustrate the importance of the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet and the superhydrophobic layer design of this
prototype, we prepared another two control samples, one
control sample with a water droplet to replace the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet in the same volume and the
other one without a superhydrophobic coating on the surface.
The electrical responses of these two samples were obtained
under the same conditions as those in Figure 2. As shown by
the orange lines in Figure 2a−d andMovie S1, the electrical
responses of the system with the water droplet were difficult to
find, indicating the importance of the ferromagnetic liquid to
generate electricity. Figure S4 and Movie S2 show the
ferromagnetic liquid pinned on the pedestal without the
superhydrophobic layer. Regardless of the tilting speed, the
black droplet remained in the same position. The electrical
voltage and current responses of the uncoated sample were
negligible, indicating the significance of superhydrophobic
surfaces for FLD-SMET.
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Working Mechanism. The working mechanism of the
FLD-SMET was studied. A high-speed camera was used to
monitor the state of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet in the
FLD-SMET. Due to the superhydrophobic coating on the
surface of the pedestal, the ferromagnetic liquid droplet moved
around in the FLD-SMET when a tilting vibration was applied
by the shaking machine. Parts a1−a5 of Figure 3 show
snapshot images during a single tilting process, where the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet is at different positions related to
the middle coil/magnet. To investigate the influence of the
magnetization of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet on the
magnetic field distribution of the magnetic bottom, a simplified
computational model based on the FLD-SMET was con-
structed by the Maxwell numerical simulation.
The simulation model consisted of a ferromagnetic liquid
droplet (100 μL), a conductive coil (Ø 10 mm) and a magnet
bottom (Ø 10 mm), with the droplet set 1 mm above the coil
and the magnet set 2 mm below the coil. Figure 3b1−b5 and
Figure 3c1−c5 show the top view and the side view of the
static magnetic field nephograms for the calculated magnetic
distribution of the model when the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet is at different positions corresponding to Figure 3a1−
a5, which is above the coil and the magnetic bottom.
According to our previous study, the Nd2Fe14O/Ecoflex
composite magnetic bottom can be treated as a unary
system.28,29 As shown in Figure 3b1−b5 and Figure 3c1−c5,
the magnetic field nephograms show the magnetic intensity of
the unary magnetic bottom. The color bar represents gradually
increased magnetic intensity from blue to red, and the
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Figure 2. Transduction of mechanical energy to electricity of the FLD-SMET. (a) Electrical voltage response vs time curve and (c) electrical
current response vs time curve when a 100 μL ferromagnetic liquid droplet (green plots) and water droplet (orange plots) rolled over at a
magnetic field of 13 mT when a shaking machine was operated at a tilting speed of 9.5°/s. (b, d) Magnified output voltage and current for a
single cycle of droplet motion. (e) Schematic illustration of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet (left) and water droplet (right) rolling on the
device surface.

strongest magnetic intensity appears around the surface of the
unary magnetic bottom.
The ferromagnetic liquid droplet was then treated as a unary
subsystem. Fe3O4 nanoparticles could be regarded as uniformly
distributed in the ferromagnetic liquid droplet. According to
the parameters and characteristics of the constituent materials
(Fe3O4 nanoparticles/water) in the magnetic fluid, the classical
Maxwell−Garnett equation30 (eq 1) was introduced into the
calculation process to obtain the corresponding unary system
μfe −μw
μeff = μw + 3μw f
μfe + 2μw − f (μfe − μw ) (1)
where μeff is the effective permeability, μw is the permeability of
water, μfe is the permeability of Fe3O4, and f is the mass ratio of
Fe3O4 to water.
According to this equation, the effective permeability of the
ferromagnetic droplet (Fe3O4 of 10 nm, 33 wt %) can be
calculated as 1.7422 (Table S1). When the ferromagnetic
droplet entered the coil/magnet region, which was originally
occupied by air, the permeability of the occupying substance
changed from 1 for air to 1.7422 for the ferromagnetic droplet
(Fe3O4 of 10 nm, 33 wt %). In contrast, in the water droplet
system, the effective permeability of the occupied substance
barely changed because the effective permeability of water and
air are both 1. Thus, Figure 2 shows that the electrical output
of FLD-SMET with water droplets is nearly zero, which is far
inferior to that with ferromagnetic droplets.
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Before the ferromagnetic liquid droplet rolled into the
middle magnetic field, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were randomly
distributed. Following the tilting of the FLD-SMET, the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet quickly moved to the middle part,
allowing it to be magnetized by the magnetic field. Comparing
the magnetic distribution in Figure 3b1 and Figure 3b3 shows
that the magnetic flux passing through the coil changes
following the movement of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet,
thereby leading to the generation of electricity in the coil
(Figure 2a−d). Following that, the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet moved out of the high magnetic intensity area, as
shown in Figure 3b3−3b5, and the droplet lost its magnet-
ization, which enabled the recovery of the magnetic
distribution in Figure 3c3−c5. Hence, a reverse magnetic
flux change took place, inducing the electrical response in the
coil.
The total magnetic flux of the ring before/after the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet enters the center area can be
calculated by eq 2
ΔΦ Φ − Φ before
e = −N = −N after
Δt Δt (2)
where e is the output voltage, N is the number of rings, ΔΦ is
the total magnetic flux change, and Δt is the time that the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet enters/leaves the center of the
magnetic field of the bottom magnetic plate.
Parameters for Optimization. To optimize this proto-
type, we investigated the parameters that might influence the
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Figure 3. Working mechanism of the electricity generation of FLD-SMET from mechanical energy. (a1−a5) Optical images captured by a
high-speed camera system showing the motions of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet in the FLD-SMET tested on a shaking machine at a
tilting speed of 9.5°/s. (b1−b5) 2D and (c1−c5) 3D calculated distribution of magnetic intensity through a circle of the coil in the FLD-
SMET with the ferromagnetic liquid droplet at different positions according to (a).

electrical outputs of the FLD-SMET. Measurements of
different parameters, such as the type of ferromagnetic liquid,
the concentration of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (10 nm) in the
ferromagnetic liquid, the volume of the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet, the magnetic field intensity of the magnet plate at the
bottom, the diameter of the magnet plate at the bottom and
the tilting speed that activated the movement of the droplet in
the FLD-SMET, were conducted to study their effects on the
transduction performance of the sample. Unless specified
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otherwise, the volume of the ferromagnetic liquid (10 nm
Fe3O4 nanoparticles, 33 wt %) droplet was 100 μL, the magnet
plate (Ø 10 mm) with a surface magnetic intensity of 13 mT
was chosen as the magnetic bottom, and the tilting speed of
the shaking machine was set at 9.5°/s.
Different types of ferromagnetic liquids were first studied to
check the universality of the concept of FLD-SMET to
generate electricity from vibrational energy. As shown in
Figure S5, apart from the ferromagnetic liquid with 10 nm
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Figure 4. Different parameters influence the electrical response of the FLD-SMET. (a) Electrical current response vs time curve when
different volumes of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet were used for the FLD-SMET. (b) Statistical results of the output current peaks from
(a). (c) Electrical current response vs time curve when diverse magnetic strengths of the bottom were prepared for the FLD-SMET. (d)
Statistical results of the output current peaks from (c). (e) Electrical current response vs time curve when the shaking machine was adjusted
at different tilting speeds for the test. (f) Statistical results of the output current peaks from (e).

Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the ferromagnetic liquid with 50 nm
Fe3O4 particles (2.0 wt %) and the other liquid with 10 nm
manganese zinc ferrite (Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) particles (2.0 wt %)
were measured. Compared to FLD-SMET with 10 nm Fe3O4
particles (2.0 wt %), the other two samples showed similar
electrical responses to the tilting vibration at 9.5°/s when the
magnetic base (Ø 10 mm) of 13 mT was at the bottom. These
results show that the concept of designing FLD-SMET for
electricity generation is universal to different water-based
ferromagnetic liquids. Since we have discussed the influence of
the concentration of 10 nm Fe 3 O 4 particles in the
ferromagnetic liquid on the electrical responses of FLD-
SMET, the fact that the concentration of ferromagnetic
nanoparticles in these ferromagnetic liquids was different is
not further considered.
The influence of the concentration of ferromagnetic
nanoparticles (10 nm Fe3O4) in the ferromagnetic liquid on
the electrical output of FLD-SMET was studied both
experimentally and numerically. As shown in Figure S6, the
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electrical outputs of FLD-SMET displayed a positive
correlation with the concentration of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in
the ferromagnetic liquid droplet. When the concentrations of
10 nm Fe3O4 particles were 2, 5, 10, 21, and 33 wt %, the
instantaneous current outputs increased from 2.9 to 7.6 μA
with a tilting speed of 9.5°/s and magnetic intensity of
approximately 13 mT. Numerical simulations were conducted
when the ferromagnetic liquid droplet of the FLD-SMET was
at different positions; it was defined as state 1 when the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet was beside the high magnetic
intensity area and state 3 when the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet was in the middle of the high magnetic intensity area.
The corresponding distribution of magnetic intensity is shown
in Figure S6c−g. With an increase in the concentration of 10
nm Fe3O4 particles, a more significant color change was
exhibited, which represents a larger magnetic flux change.
According to the classical Maxwell−Garnett equation (eq 1),
the change in the concentration of 10 nm Fe3O4 particles in
the ferromagnetic liquid led to different effective perme-
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Figure 5. FLD-SMET can be used to monitor the state of water waves. (a) Schematic diagram showing the structure of the apparatus to
monitor water waves. A superhydrophobic cover on the FLD-SMET top guarantees a sealed superhydrophobic space for the movement of
the ferromagnetic liquid drop. In addition, a foam block was used to allow the whole device to float on the water surface. (b) Electrical
circuit with a voltage booster and a rectifier when the FLD-SMET was used to monitor the water wave. An LED could be triggered to light
up driven by the water waves. (c) Electrical current response vs time curve of the FLD-SMET when intermittent water waves were created by
a wave maker.

abilities, which eventually resulted in different magnetic flux
changes of FLD-SMET when the other testing conditions
remained unchanged. Table S1 shows the effective perme-
ability value of the ferromagnetic liquid with different
concentrations of 10 nm Fe3O4 particles as well as the
magnetic flux change of the corresponding FLD-SMET. A
positive linear correlation between the effective permeability of
the ferromagnetic liquid and the electrical output of the FLD-
SMET can be observed in Figure S7.
The volume of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet did not
show a distinct influence on the performance of the FLD-
SMET. With an increase in the volume from 50 to 200 μL, the
electrical current responses of the droplet in Figure 4a
demonstrate a slight increase in the tilting vibration. The
corresponding statistical values of the current outputs in Figure
4b show that the average current response increases from 7.6−
9.2 μA. These results are attributed to the limited magnetized
layer of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet. As shown in Figure
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3c1−c5, the magnetic flux change passing through the coil is
caused by the magnetized Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the middle of
the coil area. Increasing the volume of the ferromagnetic liquid
droplet enhances the height of the droplet rather than the area
of the magnetized area. Thus, the volume increase of the
ferromagnetic liquid droplet shows a limited influence on the
electrical outputs.
In contrast, the magnetic intensity of the magnet plate at the
bottom showed a positive impact on the performance of the
FLD-SMET. As plotted in Figure 4c, the electrical current
responses of the FLD-SMET increase along with the
enhancement of the magnetic intensity. The statistical values
of the current response in Figure 4d clearly show an ascending
trend from 2.9 to 12.6 μA when the magnet plate has been
changed with the magnetic intensity from 8 to 18 mT. The
corresponding numeric simulations were conducted when the
ferromagnetic liquid was outside (state 1) and in the middle
(state 3) of the high magnetic intensity area with these FLD-
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SMETs. The static magnetic field nephograms for the
calculated distribution of magnetic intensity through a circle
of the coil are shown in Figure S8. The top view of the static
magnetic field nephograms showed a clear color difference
when different external magnetic strengths were applied, and
Table S2 displays the calculated magnetic flux changes at State
1 and State 3, which are in good agreement with the electrical
output trend. Notably, the ferromagnetic liquid droplet was
stuck on the surface when the magnetic field of the bottom
magnet plate was beyond 25 mT (Movie S3). Owing to the
strong attraction by the magnet plate with a magnetic intensity
of 25 mT on its surface, the ferromagnetic liquid droplet
pinned in the center of the pedestal and could not further
move under the tilting vibration.
The magnetic field distribution of the magnet base also
changed when the diameters of the bottom magnets were 6,
10, and 14 mm, and the magnetic strength remained the same
at 13 mT. The electrical responses of the FLD-SMET to a
tilting vibration of 9.5°/s are displayed in Figure S9. It shows a
linear increase in the electrical current output when the
diameter bottom magnet increases. Numerical simulations
were conducted when the ferromagnetic liquid droplet of FLD-
SMET was at different positions. The static magnetic field
nephograms shown in Figure S9 and their corresponding
magnetic flux calculation results of one circle of the coil (Ø 10
mm) in the FLD-SMET calculated in Table S3 reveal that a
stronger magnetic distribution can enhance the electrical
response of the FLD-SMET to the tilting vibration.
According to the above analysis on the distribution of
magnetic fields, we can conclude that before the ferromagnetic
liquid droplet sticks to the surface of the substrate due to the
high magnetic intensity, the FLD-SMET with higher magnetic
intensity can exhibit a higher electrical response to external
vibrations.
When the FLD-SMET was tested at different tilting speeds,
the FLD-SMET showed a slight improvement in the electrical
response with increasing tilting speed. The electrical current
outputs and the statistical values of the current peaks are
shown in Figure 4e,f. The electrical current output of FLD-
SMET showed a slight increase from 7.6−11.6 μA when the
tilting speed of the shaking machine was increased from 5.2 to
26.8°/s. According to eq 2, the magnetic flux change is
negatively correlated with the response time. As shown in
Figure S10, the response times of the droplet during one tilting
process with tilting speeds of 5.2 and 9.5°/s are close to each
other. Thus, the electrical currents are similar, approximately
7.6 μA. When the tilting speed is 19.7°/s, the response time is
0.13 s, leading to a small increase in electrical current to 9.7
μA. The response time additionally decreased to 0.12 and 0.13
s when the tilting speed reached 22.5 and 26.8°/s, resulting in
electrical currents of 10.9 and 11.6 μA, respectively.
The as-prepared FLD-SMET showed good stability to
maintain its mechanical-electrical conversion response to the
tilting vibration. As shown in Figure S11, stable current
responses of the FLD-SMET to continuous tilting vibration
appear, showing steady current peaks at approximately 7.8 μA.
After being kept under ambient conditions for over one month,
FLD-SMET maintained a stable electrical response to the
reversible tilting stimuli (Figure S12).
Water Wave Energy Harvester. Owing to its capability
for mechanical-to-electrical transduction, the as-fabricated
FLD-SMET could serve as a wave monitor by transducing
the wave mechanical energy to electricity. As shown in Figure
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5a, we attached a superhydrophobic cover to the top of FLD-
SMET to guarantee a sealed superhydrophobic space for the
movement of the ferromagnetic liquid drop. In addition, a
piece of foam block was used to support the FLD-SMET,
which allowed the whole device to float on the surface of the
water waves. After being connected to a rectifying circuit
through a booster, the FLD-SMET-based wave indicator was
able to generate electricity to trigger a light emitting diode to
light up driven by the waves. A wave maker was used to
generate artificial waves in the water tank, which can be
observed in Figure 5b and Movie S4. The related electrical
current signal generated by the as-fabricated wave indicator
when the waves were applied intermittently can be found in
Figure 5c.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we demonstrated an energy transducer prototype,
the FLD-SMET, that can generate electricity through the
movement of ferromagnetic liquid droplets on a super-
hydrophobic magnetoelectric device by harnessing the
reversible magnetization nature of the ferromagnetic liquid.
The superhydrophobic surface played an essential role in
enabling fast movement of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet on
the substrate. As a result, the ferromagnetic liquid droplet
moved across over a coil under an external magnetic field,
leading to a change in magnetic flux and thereby electricity
generation from its mechanical energy.
Our study revealed that the concept of designing a FLD-
SMET for electricity generation was universal among different
water-based ferromagnetic liquids. Moreover, the FLD-SMET,
even with a small volume (50−200 μL) ferromagnetic liquid
droplet, can generate obvious and stable electrical responses to
mechanical vibration stimuli. An electrical current response up
to 12.6 μA can be obtained by the FLD-SMET with the tilting
speed set at 9.5°/s and the bottom magnetic field set at 18 mT.
We demonstrate that the FLD-SMET can serve as a self-
powered light buoy to monitor the fluctuation of the water
surface. This work will provide insight into the design of
magnetic droplet-based energy transducers to convert
surrounding vibrational energy to electricity.
METHODS
Materials. Hydrophobic silica (AEROSIL R202), poly(methyl
methacrylate) (PMMA) powder, acetone (≥99.0%, Sigma-Aldrich),
Nd2Fe14B megnetic powder (400 mesh), and two-component liquid
silicone (Ecoflex, T605 No. A&B) were commercially available.
Water-based ferromagnetic liquid (SS-F10C, JkNanotech, China) was
used as purchased and consisted of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4)
nanoparticles (average diameter 10 nm, 33 wt %). Copper coils
were purchased as custom products with wire diameters of 0.08 mm,
outer diameters of 10 mm, inner diameters of 2 mm, and thicknesses
of 1 mm.
For comparison, the ferromagnetic liquid with 10 nm Fe3O4
nanoparticles (SS-F10C, JkNanotech, China) was diluted to different
concentrations of 2, 5, 10, and 21% by adding a calculated amount of
deionized water. Another two types of water-based ferromagnetic
liquids (SS-F10C, XFNano, China) were purchased as custom
products: 50 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles (XFJ69-1, XFNano, China)
and 10 nm Manganese Zinc Ferrite (Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) nanoparticles
of (XFJ92, XFNano, China). According to the concentration of Fe (5
mg/mL) in the 50 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the mass ratio of Fe3O4
nanoparticles can be calculated as 2.0 wt %. According to the
concentration of Fe (5 mg/mL) in the 10 nm Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4
nanoparticles, the mass ratio of Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles can be
calculated as 2.0 wt %.
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c03539
ACS Nano 2021, 15, 12151−12160
ACS Nano www.acsnano.org
Fabrication of the Ferromagnetic Liquid Droplet-Based
Superhydrophobic Magnetoelectric Energy Transducer (FLD-
SMET). The fabrication procedure of the FLD-SMET is described as
follows. Hydrophobic silica nanoparticles (AEROSIL R202) and
PMMA powder were dispersed in acetone in a weight ratio of 1:0.2:9
and sonicated before use. A pedestal with a dumbbell groove was
prepared with a stereolithography 3D printer. The silica dispersion
was sprayed on the mold to form a superhydrophobic layer on the
surface. The magnetic plate was obtained by mixing Nd2Fe14B
magnetic powder with a mixture of liquid Ecoflex precursor in
different weight ratios, which was solidified in a mold to form a round
plate (Ø 10 mm, thickness 2 mm). Then, the magnetic plate was
magnetized on a magnetizer (MA-2030, Shenzhen Jiuju Industrial
Equipment Co., Ltd.) at 1600 V. The Ecoflex base with a cylindrical
groove (Ø 10 mm, thickness 3 mm) was prepared by solidifying the
mixture of the liquid Ecoflex precursor in a 3D printed mold. The
magnetic plate was placed in the groove of the Ecoflex base, and then
the conductive coil was layered on the top of the magnetic plate.
Finally, the FLD-SMET was assembled in the structure, as shown in
Figure 1a, with the parts prepared as above. For comparison, the
diameter of the magnetic plates was adjusted by using different molds
to form a round plate of Ø 6 mm with a thickness of 2 mm and
another plate of Ø 14 mm with a thickness of 2 mm.
In this work, Nd2Fe14B/Ecoflex magnetic plates were prepared with
magnetic powder contents of 20, 40, 50, and 60 wt %. After
magnetization treatment, their surface magnetic intensities were 8, 13,
18, and 25 mT on average, respectively. For comparison, a sample
without a superhydrophobic coating on the pedestal was prepared. In
another control experiment, a water droplet was used to replace the
magnetic fluid droplet for testing.
Tilting Measurement. A FLD-SMET was tested on a shaking
machine in a reversible tilting mode. The electrical responses to the
relative movement of the magnetic fluid droplet in the sample were
recorded by an electrochemistry workstation (Autolab PGSTAT204,
Metrohm). The potentiostatic method and galvanostatic method were
adopted with the voltage set at 0 V and the current set at 0 A,
respectively, to measure the electrical signal converted from the
dynamic mechanical energy loaded on the sample.
Wave Monitoring Test. A round plate with the super-
hydrophobic coated surface was glued on top of the FLD-SMET. A
foam block was used to support the FLD-SMET, which allowed the
whole device to float on the surface of the water.
Numerical Simulation. Abquas 6.13-1 was used to conduct the
finite element analysis simulation. ANSYS MAXWELL finite element
analysis software was used to conduct two-dimensional (2D) and
three-dimensional (3D) modeling of an Fe3O4 magnetic fluid droplet
placed upon a copper coil with a gap according to the gap distance in
Figure 1a with a Nd2Fe14B magnetic elastomer beneath the copper
coil. The magnetizing process was performed in the direction of the
positive Z axis (the top for the S pole and the bottom for the N pole)
according to the Nd2Fe14B parameters.
Characterization. The contact angle of the magnetic fluid droplet
on the 3D printed plate was measured in the still mode on a contact
angle meter (SDC-350, SINDIN, China). Both the superhydrophobic
coated plate and uncoated plate were used for comparison. Scanning
electron microscopy of the superhydrophobic pedestal of the FLD-
SMET was conducted on a field emission microscope (FESEM,
GeminiSEM300, Carl Zeiss, Germany) at an accelerating voltage of 5
kV. The real-time status of the samples was recorded on a
MEMRECAM HX-7s high-speed camera system (ST-857, NAC
Image Technology, Inc.) which was controlled by MEMRECAM
HXLINK (SP-642). High-resolution transmission electron micros-
copy of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles was conducted on a field emission
microscope (HRTEM, JEM-2100F, JEOL, Japan). The magnetic
hysteresis loop of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles dried from the water-based
magnetic fluid was measured on a magnetic material testing system
(TD8310, TUNKIA, China).
12159
Article
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
*
sı Supporting Information
The Supporting Information is available free of charge at
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.1c03539.
Image of a ferromagnetic liquid droplet (5 μL) on the
untreated surface of FLD-SMET; the magnetic hyste-
resis loop of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles; setup of a shaking
machine; the electrical responses of the control sample
that has not been treated with superhydrophobic
coating; the comparison of the FLD-SMET with
different types of ferromagnetic nanofluid droplets; the
comparison of the FLD-SMET using different Fe3O4
nanoparticle concentrations; the correlation between the
effective permeability of the ferromagnetic liquid and the
electrical output of FLD-SMET; the comparison of the
FLD-SMET with different magnetic strengths; the
comparison of the FLD-SMET with different diameters;
enlarged signal of the electrical current responses vs time
curve; a stable electrical current response to continuous
tilting movement; a stable electrical current after being
kept over one month under ambient conditions (PDF)
Moving state of the water droplet in the device (MP4)
Moving state of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet in FLD-
SMET when a hydrophilic plate was used at the bottom
(MP4)
Moving states of the ferromagnetic liquid droplet in
FLD-SMET when magnet plates with different magnetic
strengths were used at the bottom (MP4)
FLD-SMET was used as a self-powered light buoy to
monitor the fluctuation of water (MP4)
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
Bin Su − State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die
& Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China; orcid.org/0000-
0002-7122-6694; Email: subin@hust.edu.cn
Authors
Zheng Ma − State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and
Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P.R. China; orcid.org/0000-
0002-5575-2096
Qi Wang − State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic
Engineering and Technology, School of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and
Technology, Wuhan 430074, P.R. China
Jingwei Ai − State Key Laboratory of Advanced
Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, School of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Huazhong University of
Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P.R. China
Complete contact information is available at:
https://pubs.acs.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c03539
Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the International Postdoctoral
Exchange Fellowship Program (Talent-Introduction Program),
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c03539
ACS Nano 2021, 15, 12151−12160
ACS Nano www.acsnano.org
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant
(2019M652619), the National 1000 Young Talents Program
of China, the Foundation of Shenzhen Science and
Technology Innovation Committee (Grant No.
JCYJ20190809102407410), and initiatory financial support
from HUST.
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