Transpiration-Driven Electrokinetic Power Generator for Early Warning and Forecast of Geological Seepage

Water-seepage-induced geological hazards often cause substantial economic losses, human mortality, and environmental damage. Nevertheless, the available water seepage early warning system (WSEWS) still needs much improvement. In this work, a WSEWS is proposed which uses a transpiration-driven electrokinetic power generator (TEPG) that utilizes a MoS2-functionalized filter paper as the warning sensor. The strong and appropriate water absorption of the filter paper endows the WSEWS with an early warning time resolution on the scale of seconds. In addition, the pseudostreaming mechanism of the TEPG enables the WSEWS to clearly distinguish water seepage from conventional humidity changes, thus preventing the triggering of false alarms caused by such changes. Moreover, it provides the WSEWS with the ability to monitor seepage with a trace amount of water (e.g., 2 μL of water). These merits confirm the application potential of TEPG-based WSEWS in the early warning of rainfall-induced geological hazards at mines, unpopulated areas, and informal settlements.