We report generation of electricity from the limitless thermal motion of ions across a two-dimensional (2D) silicon (Si) surface at room temperature. A typical Si device with Au-Ag electrodes could generate an open-circuit voltage of up to 0.40 V in a 5M CuCl2 solution and an output current of more than 11 μA when a 25 kΩ resistor was loaded into the circuit. A possible momentum transfer process was proposed to explain the electronic excitation, and modified thermionic emission theory was used to explain the experimental results. This finding provides a self-charging technology for energy harvesting from ambient heat.
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