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Abstract Traditional piezoelectric materials, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), are widely used due to their superior ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. However, these lead-based ceramics are highly toxic and environmentally hazardous. This report explores Rochelle salt as an eco-friendly alternative, despite its brittleness and lower piezoelectric properties compared to PZT. The study investigates methods to enhance the energy capture of Rochelle salt crystals(RS) by varying crystal volume, impact frequency, and force, as well as by incorporating the 3D-printed biomimetic structure inspired by the pomelo fruit peel, which is naturally optimized for absorbing out-of-plane crushing forces. Experimental crystals grown within this structure were compared with those grown without it, focusing on energy capture and durability. Additionally, units with a 64:36 crystal-to-resin ratio were designed to assess the impact of crystal volume on voltage output. The experiments involved varying impact frequencies (120 rpm and 250 rpm) and compression distances (0.034 and 0.068 inches) using a digital oscilloscope and a custom crank slider mechanism. The results indicate that reducing crystal thickness and increasing rpms enhance voltage capture, suggesting that biomimetic structures can significantly improve the mechanical and electrical performance of piezoelectric materials. 

Collecting fog water is crucial for dry areas since natural moisture and fog are significant sources of freshwater. Sustainable and energy-efficient water collection systems can take a page out of the cactus’s playbook by mimicking its native fog gathering process. Inspired by the unique geometric structure of the cactus spine, we fabricated a bioinspired artificial fog collector consisting of cactus spines featuring barbs of different sizes and angles on the surfaces for water collection and a series of microcavities within microchannels inspired by Nepenthes Alata on the bottom to facilitate water flowing to the reservoir. However, replicating the actual shape of the cactus spine using conventional manufacturing techniques is challenging, and research in this area has faced a limitation in enhancing water-collecting efficiency. Here, we turned to 3D printing technology (vat photopolymerization) to create bio-mimetic fog collectors with a variety of geometric shapes that would allow for the most effective conveyance and gathering of water. Various barb sizes, angles between each barb in a single array, spine and barb arrangements, and quantity of barbs were tested experimentally and numeric analysis was carried out to measure the volume of water collected and optimize the mass rate. The result shows that optimal fog collection is with a mass flow rate of 0.7433 g/min, with Li = 900 μm, θ = 45°, ϕ = 90°, Nb = 2, and Ns = 5. This study presents a sustainable and ecologically sound method for efficiently collecting humid air, which is expected to be advantageous for the advancement of future-oriented fog-collection, water-transportation, and separation technologies.