Self-powered materials obtained by interfacing functional assemblies with energy harvesting films

Abstract

Self-powered materials prepared by combining functional assemblies with energy harvesting films have attracted increasing research attention recently and are applied in many fields, such as in drug delivery and therapeutic devices, tissue engineering materials, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates, hybridized photocatalysts, mechanoluminescent materials, and optoelectronic devices, amongst others. Compared with self-powered devices containing a management circuit, self-powered devices obtained by directly interfacing the energy generation unit and the electricity consumption unit have higher efficiencies and exhibit low power loss. More compact designs can also be developed, which results in devices with smaller volumes, further facilitating their usage. In this review, we document and discuss self-powered devices built by interfacing the electricity generation units and the electricity consumption units without being connected by an electric circuit. The electricity generating units and enhanced functionality as well as function promoting mechanisms are discussed. We expect that this review will help promote the development of integrated self-powered devices and lead to advanced systematic materials that better address current medical, environmental, and energy challenges.