Environmental pollution and global warming caused by fossil fuels have become increasingly serious issues. Therefore, it is urgent to explore novel strategies to obtain sustainable, renewable and clean energy. Fortunately, ambient energy harvesting technologies, which are receiving increasing attention, provide an optimal solution. Additionally, the investigation of two-dimensional (2D) materials represented by transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) significantly facilitates the advancement of ambient energy harvesting technologies due to their unique properties, enabling the application of ambient energy harvesting. Herein, we summarized recent advances in the application of TMDs in thermal energy harvesting, osmotic energy harvesting, mechanical energy harvesting, water energy harvesting and radiofrequency energy harvesting respectively. In the meanwhile, we listed some representative structure and device optimization strategies for enhancing the energy conversion performance of these ambient energy harvesters, aiming to provide valuable insights for future investigations towards further optimization. Finally, we highlight the pressing issues currently faced in the application of the TMDs ambient energy harvesting technologies and propose some potential solutions to these challenges. We aimed to provide a comprehensive review in the applications of the energy harvesting technologies, in order to provide innovative insights for optimizing existing TMDs-based technologies.
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Injectability empowers conductive hydrogels to transcend traditional limitations, unlocking a realm of possibilities for innovative medical, wearable, and therapeutic applications that can significantly enhance patient care and quality of life. Here, we report an injectable, self-healable, and reusable hydrogel obtained by mixing the concentrated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) suspension (~ 2 wt.% solid content), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and borax. Leveraging the presence of reversible borax/hydroxyl bonds and multiple hydrogen bonds, this PEDOT:PSS/PVA hydrogel exhibits notable shear-thinning behavior and self-healing capabilities, enabling it to be injected as a gel fiber from a syringe. As-prepared injectable hydrogel also demonstrates an ultra-low modulus (~ 2.5 MPa), reduced on-skin impedance (~ 45% of commercial electrodes), and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (~ 15–22 dB) in recording of electrocardiography (ECG), electromyography (EMG), and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Furthermore, the injectable hydrogels can be remolded and reinjected as the reusable electrodes, maintaining nearly identical electrophysiological recording capabilities and brain–computer interface (BCI) performance compared to commercial wet electrodes. With their straightforward fabrication, excellent material properties and electronic performance, ease of cleaning, and remarkable reusability, our injectable PEDOT:PSS/PVA hydrogels hold promise for advancements in BCI based electronics and wearable bioelectronics.
In the green energy and carbon-neutral technology, electrochemical energy storage devices have received continuously increasing attention recently. However, due to the unavoidable volume expansion/shrinkage of key materials or irreversible mechanical damages during application, the stability of energy storage and delivery as well as the lifetime of these devices are severely shortened, leading to serious performance degradation or even safety issues. Therefore, the utilization of self-healable gels into electrochemical energy storage devices, such as electrodes, binders, and electrolytes, is proven as an effective method to realize long-term stable operation of these devices via the self-repairing of mechanical and electrochemical characteristics. Herein, this review first summarizes the feature and fabrication of different gels, paying special attention to hydrogels, organohydrogels, and ionogels. Then, basic concepts and figure of merit of self-healable gels are analyzed with a detailed discussion at the healing mechanisms, from reversible dynamic bonds to physical molecular diffusion, and to external healing trigger. Then we introduce all the important parts of electrochemical energy storage devices, which could be replaced by healable gels to enhance the durability, including electrodes, binders, and electrolytes. Finally, the critical challenges and future perspectives regarding the future development of healable gels based high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices or electronics are provided.
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