# Advances in Biomaterials Development and Their Energy Harvesting Application

## TL;DR

This review explores how self-assembled biomolecular materials can be used to harvest energy, highlighting their properties and potential applications in energy systems and microelectronics.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of self-assembled biomolecular materials for energy harvesting, emphasizing their structural properties and challenges in design and performance.

## Key findings

- Self-assembled biomolecular materials exhibit mechanical, piezoelectric, and semiconductor properties suitable for energy harvesting.
- Applications include piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators, as well as water-enabled electricity generation.
- Challenges include material design, assembly regulation, and performance improvement for broader application.

## Abstract

Biomolecular self-assembly presents a convenient and promising approach for fabricating functional nanomaterials. The inherent structural and functional diversity of biomolecules facilitates the creation of a wide spectrum of biological nanomaterials through this intricate process. These versatile materials have demonstrated extensive utility in multidisciplinary domains, encompassing materials science, biomedical engineering, tissue engineering, nanotechnology, and analytical science. This review focuses on self-assembled biomolecular materials for energy harvesting applications, organized into 4 main aspects. Firstly, we introduce the self-assembly methods and key factors involved in biomolecular self-assembly mechanism, including hydrogen bonding, covalent bonds, π–π interactions, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions. Secondly, we discussed the structural characteristics of different types of self-assembled biomolecular materials and introduced their mechanical, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, semiconductor, and biocompatibility properties. Next, the application of self-assembled biomolecular materials in energy harvesting was studied, mainly focusing on piezoelectric nanogenerators, triboelectric nanogenerators, water-enabled electricity generation, and other types of energy harvesting devices. Finally, we emphasized challenges in the area encompassing not only the design of the materials and assembly regulation but also probable efforts in improving performance and application fields. We believe that this review will elucidate diverse functions of self-assembled biomaterials, paving the way for the innovative design of biomaterials not only for energy harvesting systems but also for biomaterial-based microelectronic devices.