A Game Changer: A Multifunctional Perovskite Exhibiting Giant Ferroelectricity and Narrow Bandgap with Potential Application in a Truly Monolithic Multienergy Harvester or Sensor

An ABO₃‐type perovskite solid‐solution, (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃ (KNN) doped with 2 mol% Ba(Ni_0.5Nb_0.5)O_3?δ (BNNO) is reported. Such a composition yields a much narrower bandgap (≈1.6 eV) compared to the parental composition—pure KNN—and other widely used piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials (e.g., Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, BaTiO₃). Meanwhile, it exhibits the same large piezoelectric coefficient as that of KNN (≈100 pC N^?1) and a much larger pyroelectric coefficient (≈130 µC m^?2 K^?1) compared to the previously reported narrow‐bandgap material (KNbO₃)_1?x ‐BNNO_x . The unique combination of these excellent ferroelectric and optical properties opens the door to the development of multisource energy harvesting or multifunctional sensing devices for the simultaneous and efficient conversion of solar, thermal, and kinetic energies into electricity in a single material. Individual and comprehensive characterizations of the optical, ferroelectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and photovoltaic properties are investigated with single and coexisting energy sources. No degrading interaction between ferroelectric and photovoltaic behaviors is observed. This composition may fundamentally change the working principles of state‐of‐the‐art hybrid energy harvesters and sensors, and thus significantly increases the unit‐volume energy conversion efficiency and reliability of energy harvesters in ambient environments.     

Hybrid Energy Harvesters: Toward Sustainable Energy Harvesting

Recently, sustainable green energy harvesting systems have been receiving great attention for their potential use in self‐powered smart wireless sensor network (WSN) systems. In particular, though the developed WSN systems are able to advance public good, very high and long‐term budgets will be required in order to use them to supply electrical energy through temporary batteries or connecting power cables. This report summarizes recent significant progress in the development of hybrid nanogenerators for a sustainable energy harvesting system that use natural and artificial energies such as solar, wind, wave, heat, machine vibration, and automobile noise. It starts with a brief introduction of energy harvesting systems, and then summarizes the different hybrid energy harvesting systems: integration of mechanical and photovoltaic energy harvesters, integration of mechanical and thermal energy harvesters, integration of thermal and photovoltaic energy harvesters, and others. In terms of the reported hybrid nanogenerators, a systematic summary of their structures, working mechanisms, and output performances is provided. Specifically, electromagnetic induction, triboelectric, piezoelectric, photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and pyroelectric effects are reviewed on the basis of the individual and hybrid power performances of hybrid nanogenerators and their practical applications with various device designs. Finally, the perspectives on and challenges in developing high performance and sustainable hybrid nanogenerator systems are presented.     

Energy Harvesters for Wearable and Stretchable Electronics: From Flexibility to Stretchability

The rapid advancements of wearable electronics have caused a paradigm shift in consumer electronics, and the emerging development of stretchable electronics opens a new spectrum of applications for electronic systems. Playing a critical role as the power sources for independent electronic systems, energy harvesters with high flexibility or stretchability have been the focus of research efforts over the past decade. A large number of the flexible energy harvesters developed can only operate at very low strain level (≈0.1%), and their limited flexibility impedes their application in wearable or stretchable electronics. Here, the development of highly flexible and stretchable (stretchability >15% strain) energy harvesters is reviewed with emphasis on strategies of materials synthesis, device fabrication, and integration schemes for enhanced flexibility and stretchability. Due to their particular potential applications in wearable and stretchable electronics, energy‐harvesting devices based on piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, thermoelectricity, and dielectric elastomers have been largely developed and the progress is summarized. The challenges and opportunities of assembly and integration of energy harvesters into stretchable systems are also discussed.     

Hybrid Nanogenerators for Ocean Energy Harvesting: Mechanisms,Designs, and Applications

The ocean holds vast potential as a renewable energy source, but harnessing its power has been challenging due to low-frequency and high-amplitude stimulation. However, hybrid nanogenerators (HNGs) offer a promising solution to convert ocean energy into usable power efficiently. With their high sensitivity and flexible design, HNGs are ideal for low-frequency environments and remote ocean regions. Combining triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) and electromagnetic nanogenerators (EMGs) creates a unique hybrid system that maximizes energy harvesting. Ultimately, hybrid energy-harvesting systems offer a sustainable and reliable solution for growing energy needs. This study provides an in-depth review of the latest research on ocean energy harvesting by hybrid systems, focusing on self-powered applications. The article also discusses primary hybrid designs for devices, powering self-powered units such as wireless communication systems, climate monitoring systems, and buoys as applications. The potential of HNGs is enormous, and with rapid advancements in research and fabrication, these systems are poised to revolutionize ocean energy harvesting. It outlines the pros and cons of HNGs and highlights the major challenges that must be overcome. Finally, future outlooks for hybrid energy harvesters are also discussed.     

Time and frequency domain analysis of piezoelectric energy harvesters by monolithic finite element modeling

The successful design of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices relies upon the identification of optimal geometrical and material configurations to maximize the power output for a specific band of excitation frequencies. Extendable predictive models and associated approximate solution methods are essential for analysis of a wide variety of future advanced energy harvesting devices involving more complex geometries and material distributions. Based on a holistic continuum mechanics modeling approach to the multi‐physics energy harvesting problem, this article proposes a monolithic numerical solution scheme using a mixed‐hybrid 3‐dimensional finite element formulation of the coupled governing equations for analysis in time and frequency domain. The weak form of the electromechanical/circuit system uses velocities and potential rate within the piezoelectric structure, free boundary charge on the electrodes, and potential at the level of the generic electric circuit as global degrees of freedom. The approximation of stress and dielectric displacement follows the work by Pian, Sze, and Pan. Results obtained with the proposed model are compared with analytical results for the reduced‐order model of a cantilevered bimorph harvester with tip mass reported in the literature. The flexibility of the method is demonstrated by studying the influence of partial electrode coverage on the generated power output.     

Analysis of ac-dc conversion for energy harvesting using an electrostrictive polymer P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)

Harvesting systems capable of transforming unused environmental energy into useful electrical energy have been extensively studied for the last two decades. The recent development of electrostrictive polymers has generated new opportunities for harvesting energy. The contribution of this study lies in the design and validation of electrostrictive polymer- based harvesters able to deliver dc output voltage to the load terminal, making the practical application of such material for self-powered devices much more realistic. Theoretical analysis supported by experimental investigations showed that an energy harvesting module with ac-to-dc conversion allows scavenging power up to 7 μW using a bias electric field of 10 V/μm and a transverse strain of 0.2%. This represents a power density of 280 μW/cm(3) at 100 Hz, which is much higher than the corresponding values of most piezo-based harvesters.     

Optically Governed Dynamic Surface Charge Redistribution of Hybrid Plasmo‐Pyroelectric Nanosystems

Though plasmonic effect is making some headway in the energy harvesting realm, its fundamental charge transfer mechanism to a large extent is attributed to the hot‐carrier generation at the contact interface. Herein this work attempts to elucidate the physical origin of light induced plasmo‐pyroelectric enhancement based on charge density manipulation on surface state in the vicinity of the metal–ferroelectric contact interface. More importantly, by tuning the band bending, it is shown that the charge density on the surface state of a hybrid plasmo‐pyroelectric (BaTiO₃‐Ag) nanosystem can be manipulated and largely increased under the resonant blue light illumination (363 nm). It is also demonstrated that owing to this effect, the spatial pyroelectric activity of a hybrid plasmo‐pyroelectric nanosystem governs 46% enhancement in pyroelectric coefficient. This research highlights the optically regulated charge density in plasmo‐pyroelectric nanosystems, which could pave a new avenue for energy harvesting/conversion devices with distinguished advantages in wireless, photonic‐controlled, localized, and dynamic stimulation.     

Toward Wearable Self‐Charging Power Systems: The Integration of Energy‐Harvesting and Storage Devices

One major challenge for wearable electronics is that the state‐of‐the‐art batteries are inadequate to provide sufficient energy for long‐term operations, leading to inconvenient battery replacement or frequent recharging. Other than the pursuit of high energy density of secondary batteries, an alternative approach recently drawing intensive attention from the research community, is to integrate energy‐generation and energy‐storage devices into self‐charging power systems (SCPSs), so that the scavenged energy can be simultaneously stored for sustainable power supply. This paper reviews recent developments in SCPSs with the integration of various energy‐harvesting devices (including piezoelectric nanogenerators, triboelectric nanogenerators, solar cells, and thermoelectric nanogenerators) and energy‐storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors. SCPSs with multiple energy‐harvesting devices are also included. Emphasis is placed on integrated flexible or wearable SCPSs. Remaining challenges and perspectives are also examined to suggest how to bring the appealing SCPSs into practical applications in the near future.     

Lead‐Free Perovskite Nanowire‐Employed Piezopolymer for Highly Efficient Flexible Nanocomposite Energy Harvester

In the past two decades, mechanical energy harvesting technologies have been developed in various ways to support or power small‐scale electronics. Nevertheless, the strategy for enhancing current and charge performance of flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters using a simple and cost‐effective process is still a challenging issue. Herein, a 1D–3D (1‐3) fully piezoelectric nanocomposite is developed using perovskite BaTiO₃ (BT) nanowire (NW)‐employed poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) for a high‐performance hybrid nanocomposite generator (hNCG) device. The harvested output of the flexible hNCG reaches up to ≈14 V and ≈4 µA, which is higher than the current levels of even previous piezoceramic film‐based flexible energy harvesters. Finite element analysis method simulations study that the outstanding performance of hNCG devices attributes to not only the piezoelectric synergy of well‐controlled BT NWs and within P(VDF‐TrFE) matrix, but also the effective stress transferability of piezopolymer. As a proof of concept, the flexible hNCG is directly attached to a hand to scavenge energy using a human motion in various biomechanical frequencies for self‐powered wearable patch device applications. This research can pave the way for a new approach to high‐performance wearable and biocompatible self‐sufficient electronics.     

压电振动能量收集装置研究现状及发展趋势

摘要：随着无线技术及微机电技术的日益发展,以化学电池为主的供能方式的弊端日渐显露,压电振动能量收集装置以其结构简单、清洁环保及易于微型化等诸多优点而得到了极大重视。本文从振动能量收集常用的压电材料及其压电性入手,从压电振动能量收集装置的结构设计和能量收集电路设计两方面对其进行阐述。在结构设计方面,以压电振动能量收集结构的方向性和响应频带为主线,详细介绍了国内外研究者在压电振动能量收集装置结构设计上的变化与创新;在能量收集电路设计方面,以能量收集效率的提高为主线,介绍了电路结构的优化改进。最后,总结了压电振动能量收集装置未来的研究趋势和方向,为从事压电振动能量收集研究的人员提供参考。     

Materials Strategies and Device Architectures of Emerging Power Supply Devices for Implantable Bioelectronics

Implantable bioelectronics represent an emerging technology that can be integrated into the human body for diagnostic and therapeutic functions. Power supply devices are an essential component of bioelectronics to ensure their robust performance. However, conventional power sources are usually bulky, rigid, and potentially contain hazardous constituent materials. The fact that biological organisms are soft, curvilinear, and have limited accommodation space poses new challenges for power supply systems to minimize the interface mismatch and still offer sufficient power to meet clinical‐grade applications. Here, recent advances in state‐of‐the‐art nonconventional power options for implantable electronics, specifically, miniaturized, flexible, or biodegradable power systems are reviewed. Material strategies and architectural design of a broad array of power devices are discussed, including energy storage systems (batteries and supercapacitors), power devices which harvest sources from the human body (biofuel cells, devices utilizing biopotentials, piezoelectric harvesters, triboelectric devices, and thermoelectric devices), and energy transfer devices which utilize sources in the surrounding environment (ultrasonic energy harvesters, inductive coupling/radiofrequency energy harvesters, and photovoltaic devices). Finally, future challenges and perspectives are given.     

Dynamic Pluronic F127 Crosslinking Enhancement of Biopolymeric Nanocomposites for Piezo-Triboelectric Single-Hybrid Nanogenerators and Self-Powered Sensors (Small 21/2023)

Biomechanical and nanomechanical energy harvesting systems have gained a wealth of interest, resulting in a plethora of research into the development of biopolymeric-based devices as sustainable alternatives. Piezoelectric, triboelectric, and hybrid nanogenerator devices for electrical applications are engineered and fabricated using innovative, sustainable, facile-approach flexible composite films with high performance based on bacterial cellulose and BaTiO₃, intrinsically and structurally enhanced by Pluronic F127, a micellar cross-linker. The voltage and current outputs of the modified versions with multiwalled carbon nanotube as a conductivity enhancer and post-poling effect are 38 V and 2.8 µA cm⁻², respectively. The multiconnective devices’ power density can approach 10 µW cm⁻². The rectified output power is capable of charging capacitors, driving light-emitting diode lights, powering a digital watch and interfacing with a commercial microcontroller board to operate as a piezoresistive force sensor switch as a proof of concept. Magnetoelectric studies show that the composites have the potential to be incorporated into magnetoelectric systems. The biopolymeric composites prove to be desirable candidates for multifunctional energy harvesters and electronic devices.     

Broadband piezoelectric energy harvesting devices using multiple bimorphs with different operating frequencies

This paper presents a novel approach for designing broadband piezoelectric harvesters by integrating multiple piezoelectric bimorphs (PBs) with different aspect ratios into a system. The effect of 2 connecting patterns among PBs, in series and in parallel, on improving energy harvesting performance is discussed. It is found for multifrequency spectra ambient vibrations: 1) the operating frequency band (OFB) of a harvesting structure can be widened by connecting multiple PBs with different aspect ratios in series; 2) the OFB of a harvesting structure can be shifted to the dominant frequency domain of the ambient vibrations by increasing or decreasing the number of PBs in parallel. Numerical results show that the OFB of the piezoelectric energy harvesting devices can be tailored by the connection patterns (i.e., in series and in parallel) among PBs.     

Cellulose‐Based Nanomaterials for Energy Applications

Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer on earth, providing a sustainable green resource that is renewable, degradable, biocompatible, and cost effective. Recently, nanocellulose‐based mesoporous structures, flexible thin films, fibers, and networks are increasingly developed and used in photovoltaic devices, energy storage systems, mechanical energy harvesters, and catalysts components, showing tremendous materials science value and application potential in many energy‐related fields. In this Review, the most recent advancements of processing, integration, and application of cellulose nanomaterials in the areas of solar energy harvesting, energy storage, and mechanical energy harvesting are reviewed. For solar energy harvesting, promising applications of cellulose‐based nanostructures for both solar cells and photoelectrochemical electrodes development are reviewed, and their morphology‐related merits are discussed. For energy storage, the discussion is primarily focused on the applications of cellulose‐based nanomaterials in lithium‐ion batteries, including electrodes (e.g., active materials, binders, and structural support), electrolytes, and separators. Applications of cellulose nanomaterials in supercapacitors are also reviewed briefly. For mechanical energy harvesting, the most recent technology evolution in cellulose‐based triboelectric nanogenerators is reviewed, from fundamental property tuning to practical implementations. At last, the future research potential and opportunities of cellulose nanomaterials as a new energy material are discussed.     

Mutual Insight on Ferroelectrics and Hybrid Halide Perovskites: A Platform for Future Multifunctional Energy Conversion

An insight into the analogies, state‐of‐the‐art technologies, concepts, and prospects under the umbrella of perovskite materials (both inorganic–organic hybrid halide perovskites and ferroelectric perovskites) for future multifunctional energy conversion and storage devices is provided. Often, these are considered entirely different branches of research; however, considering them simultaneously and holistically can provide several new opportunities. Recent advancements have highlighted the potential of hybrid perovskites for high‐efficiency solar cells. The intrinsic polar properties of these materials, including the potential for ferroelectricity, provide additional possibilities for simultaneously exploiting several energy conversion mechanisms such as the piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and thermoelectric effect and electrical energy storage. The presence of these phenomena can support the performance of perovskite solar cells. The energy conversion using these effects (piezo‐, pyro‐, and thermoelectric effect) can also be enhanced by a change in the light intensity. Thus, there lies a range of possibilities for tuning the structural, electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of perovskites to simultaneously harvest energy using more than one mechanism to realize an improved efficiency. This requires a basic understanding of concepts, mechanisms, corresponding material properties, and the underlying physics involved with these effects.     

Complex Nanostructures from Materials based on Metal–Organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn tremendous attention because of their abundant diversity in structure and composition. Recently, there has been growing research interest in deriving advanced nanomaterials with complex architectures and tailored chemical compositions from MOF‐based precursors for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Here, a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and energy‐related applications of complex nanostructures derived from MOF‐based precursors is provided. After a brief summary of synthetic methods of MOF‐based templates and their conversion to desirable nanostructures, delicate designs and preparation of complex architectures from MOFs or their composites are described in detail, including porous structures, single‐shelled hollow structures, and multishelled hollow structures, as well as other unusual complex structures. Afterward, their applications are discussed as electrode materials or catalysts for lithium‐ion batteries, hybrid supercapacitors, water‐splitting devices, and fuel cells. Lastly, the research challenges and possible development directions of complex nanostructures derived from MOF‐based‐templates for electrochemical energy storage and conversion applications are outlined.     

Recent Advancements in Nanogenerators for Energy Harvesting

Nanomaterial‐based generators are a highly promising power supply for micro/nanoscale devices, capable of directly harvesting energy from ambient sources without the need for batteries. These generators have been designed within four main types: piezoelectric, triboelectric, thermoelectric, and electret effects, and consist of ZnO‐based, silicon‐based, ferroelectric‐material‐based, polymer‐based, and graphene‐based examples. The representative achievements, current challenges, and future prospects of these nanogenerators are discussed.     

25th Anniversary Article: A Soft Future: From Robots and Sensor Skin to Energy Harvesters

Scientists are exploring elastic and soft forms of robots, electronic skin and energy harvesters, dreaming to mimic nature and to enable novel applications in wide fields, from consumer and mobile appliances to biomedical systems, sports and healthcare. All conceivable classes of materials with a wide range of mechanical, physical and chemical properties are employed, from liquids and gels to organic and inorganic solids. Functionalities never seen before are achieved. In this review we discuss soft robots which allow actuation with several degrees of freedom. We show that different actuation mechanisms lead to similar actuators, capable of complex and smooth movements in 3d space. We introduce latest research examples in sensor skin development and discuss ultraflexible electronic circuits, light emitting diodes and solar cells as examples. Additional functionalities of sensor skin, such as visual sensors inspired by animal eyes, camouflage, self‐cleaning and healing and on‐skin energy storage and generation are briefly reviewed. Finally, we discuss a paradigm change in energy harvesting, away from hard energy generators to soft ones based on dielectric elastomers. Such systems are shown to work with high energy of conversion, making them potentially interesting for harvesting mechanical energy from human gait, winds and ocean waves.     

Progress and Design Concerns of Nanostructured Solar Energy Harvesting Devices

Integrating devices with nanostructures is considered a promising strategy to improve the performance of solar energy harvesting devices such as photovoltaic (PV) devices and photo‐electrochemical (PEC) solar water splitting devices. Extensive efforts have been exerted to improve the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of such devices by utilizing novel nanostructures to revolutionize device structural designs. The thicknesses of light absorber and material consumption can be substantially reduced because of light trapping with nanostructures. Meanwhile, the utilization of nanostructures can also result in more effective carrier collection by shortening the photogenerated carrier collection path length. Nevertheless, performance optimization of nanostructured solar energy harvesting devices requires a rational design of various aspects of the nanostructures, such as their shape, aspect ratio, periodicity, etc. Without this, the utilization of nanostructures can lead to compromised device performance as the incorporation of these structures can result in defects and additional carrier recombination. The design guidelines of solar energy harvesting devices are summarized, including thin film non‐uniformity on nanostructures, surface recombination, parasitic absorption, and the importance of uniform distribution of photo‐generated carriers. A systematic view of the design concerns will assist better understanding of device physics and benefit the fabrication of high performance devices in the future.     

Thermally Driven Transport and Relaxation Switching Self‐Powered Electromagnetic Energy Conversion

Electromagnetic energy radiation is becoming a “health‐killer” of living bodies, especially around industrial transformer substation and electricity pylon. Harvesting, converting, and storing waste energy for recycling are considered the ideal ways to control electromagnetic radiation. However, heat‐generation and temperature‐rising with performance degradation remain big problems. Herein, graphene‐silica xerogel is dissected hierarchically from functions to “genes,” thermally driven relaxation and charge transport, experimentally and theoretically, demonstrating a competitive synergy on energy conversion. A generic approach of “material genes sequencing” is proposed, tactfully transforming the negative effects of heat energy to superiority for switching self‐powered and self‐circulated electromagnetic devices, beneficial for waste energy harvesting, conversion, and storage. Graphene networks with “well‐sequencing genes” (w = P_c/P_p > 0.2) can serve as nanogenerators, thermally promoting electromagnetic wave absorption by 250%, with broadened bandwidth covering the whole investigated frequency. This finding of nonionic energy conversion opens up an unexpected horizon for converting, storing, and reusing waste electromagnetic energy, providing the most promising way for governing electromagnetic pollution with self‐powered and self‐circulated electromagnetic devices.