# Peptide‐Induced Ferroelectricity in Charge‐Transfer Supramolecular Materials

## TL;DR

Researchers created water-processable organic ferroelectrics using self-assembling peptides, which could improve biomedical applications and sustainable electronics.

## Contribution

A novel supramolecular strategy using peptide chirality to induce ferroelectricity in charge-transfer systems is introduced.

## Key findings

- Peptide-induced symmetry breaking in supramolecular systems generates ferroelectricity and second harmonic activity.
- Ferroelectric materials enhance neuronal axonal growth and electrophysiological maturity.
- The approach enables water-processable, biocompatible organic ferroelectrics for biomedical and electronic applications.

## Abstract

Organic ferroelectrics are of great interest in sustainable energy conversion, information storage, flexible electronics, and potential biomedical applications as soft implants, among many other applications. Despite their broad potential, the development of organic ferroelectrics has remained limited, with only a few known examples in solid‐state systems, primarily due to the lack of well‐established design strategies compared to inorganic systems. Bio‐inspired supramolecular chemistry offers a path to create functional nanostructures that are water‐processable and biocompatible. We report here on supramolecular charge transfer (CT) systems in which peptides are covalently linked to dyads of electron‐donating and electron‐accepting moieties, creating amphiphiles that self‐assemble into nanoscale ribbons in water. The peptide chirality‐induced symmetry breaking in these crystalline nanostructures not only results in second harmonic activity but also generates ferroelectric behavior across multiple CT systems, demonstrating a versatile supramolecular approach to the design of new organic ferroelectrics. Furthermore, culturing primary neuron cells on coatings of the ferroelectric materials promoted axonal growth and enhanced action potentials, indicating improved neuronal maturity facilitated by the polar structure of the ferroelectric nanomaterials. The supramolecular strategy used here holds promise to create new water‐processable ferroelectric biomaterials, opening avenues for innovative applications in cell charge transfer, neuronal axon growth, peptide symmetry breaking, self‐assembling peptides, supramolecular ferroelectrics, proliferation, and bioelectronics.

Bio‐inspired supramolecular charge‐transfer amphiphiles self‐assemble into nanoribbons in water, where peptide chirality‐induced symmetry breaking generates robust ferroelectricity across multiple systems. These water‐processable organic ferroelectrics also enhance neuronal outgrowth and electrophysiological maturity, offering a versatile strategy for designing functional ferroelectric biomaterials for sustainable electronics and biointerfaces.